To Ease the Pain
by Midnight Write
Summary: How will Kyoko deal with the discoveries of herself and others? REVISED. SasukeOC AU
1. New Training?

_It was raining that day. The drops splattered against the dirt road turning it to mud as Oka and I came upon a village. The mist rose around the woodland and houses as we passed through the gates without interference .I crept quietly behind Oka, my tiny palms grasping the hem of her skirts as she led the both of us through the streets of the town. Both of us were soaked and cold and tired but we had finally found somewhere. That didn't mean I wanted to be here. I just wanted to go home. This wasn't home. I had lost all of that in one single night; everything except Oka._

It was raining.

Again.

There was a little bit of fog that surrounded my feet as a group of fangirls dashed past, bumping into both of us as they entered the Academy.

"How about you watch where you are going, Dipshits!" Mai yelled at the pack, whose pace increased as we glared after them. We continued in behind the last of the fan club just as class was called into session. I occupied my normal seat in the back; Mai sat next to me, twiddling with a senbon between her fingers, the metal glinting in the early sunlight.

Leaning back, I watched the chaos that was my class. Most were chattering incoherently; Akamaru barked loudly over the talk and jumped into Kiba's lap, knocking him and his seat over with a crash. Shikamaru was attempting, and apparently succeeding, in catching an early morning nap on his desk, his light snores reaching my ears. Naruto was on the desk, just staring Sasuke down as all of the girls of our class, including Sakura and Ino, had begun punching and screaming even louder to decide who would take the seat next to Sasuke. Hiro sat on Sasuke's other side, a tickmark growing swiftly on his head. I rolled my eyes and lazily drifted my gaze back across the room.

"Pathetic excuse for kunoichi," Mai stated, disgusted with the females of our class and at the same time, bored out of her mind, now carving something into the desk with her senbon.

"Imagine living next door to one of the presidents of the club," I rolled my eyes, "I hear her all the time just ogling over her precious Sasuke. It's sickening."

Everything continued to be in its usual anarchy as we awaited the arrival Iruka, who was probably still going crazy over something insignificant that he shouldn't even need to be worried over.

All of a sudden, the room was filled with gasps.

I searched for the cause and when I finally found it, my chair fall back onto all of the four legs as I tried to hold my sides together. Mai joined my laughter and we began to roll around on the ground, unable to hold back our amusement at the Naruto-Sasuke lip lock before us. I thought it was a hilarious way to start off class until Iruka came in and ruined the fun.

"Ok! Ok! Settle down everyone! It's time to start class!" Iruka shouted above the clatter. It took a few minutes for the class to settle and when they finally did, there was still a great amount of tension in the air.

Iruka began his lesson, the chalk scratching and tapping quickly against the board at the front as my eyelids grew heavy. My eyes closed but only what seemed like seconds later a hard bit of chalk collided with my head. Looking up from resting on my forearms, I glared at a scowling Iruka. When he turned back around, my eyes closed again.

As I felt the minutes trickle by slowly, I was just a bit coherent of the lesson he was teaching: teamwork.

Again.

When would he realize that some people will never get along?

Abruptly, Iruka's angered voice rose again at my sleeping. His face was distorted in annoyance at my lack of care. Except, I, shocking, I know, didn't care. His gaze then turned to my sleeping companion who was blinking awake.

"What?" I hissed, my voice muffled from not lifting my head off my arms.

"Everyone is excused, except you Kyoko; I want to see you after class," Iruka added. Students began to pile books into bags as they vacated the room. "Now Kyoko."

I sighed before pushing myself up and pushing past the exiting students. A shoulder shoved past me painfully, forcing me into a desk. I sneered at the back of the rude shinobi, who just continued on, ignoring me and shoving his hands deeper in his pockets.

I finally made it to Iruka's desk and sat reluctantly in the chair he offered. "You have been set up for private training Kyoko, starting this evening," Iruka stated, his taupe gaze boring into me.

"And if I don't show up?" I prodded, stretching my arms out drowsily.

"Then you don't get your team."

I didn't respond verbally to Iruka, instead giving him a quick aggravated glare before sauntering between the desks to a still sleeping Mai. She stretched groggily as we exited the classroom, out into the musky post-rain environment.

Mai and I were hanging out in the park while we talked over my dilemma.

"What do you take of this training?" I asked her; just staring out at the few shinobi that were determined enough to train in the bleary mid - afternoon sun. She pondered as a senbon twisted between her fingers.

"Just go tonight and see what it's all about. It can't be _that_ dreadful," she stated, although I'm not sure I completely believed her. "Anyways, I'll catch up with you after. I was supposed to be home half an hour ago so I had better get started on that," Mai said, setting the senbon back into her mousy locks. She disappeared around the corner quickly and I ran towards my own house, travelling through the main part of town to get to the calm outskirts. The rush of people returning home from work had not completely calmed yet so there was a limited amount of space I could weave though. I had managed to make it almost the entire way home when I collided with another body.

"Hey, how about you watch out where you're going!" I shouted from the ground, rubbing my head. I looked up, snarling at the reason for my fall. He stared down at me, one eyebrow raised and his hands secluded in his pockets.

"You should be more careful," he stated coldly as if it had been completely my fault.

"Why don't you walk with your eyes open from now on, Uchiha?" As I stood up, I gave the Uchiha a death glare, narrowing my eyes dangerously. His glare only darkened, his onyx eyes intent on me.

"You should really control your temper, Tanaka," he warned, his dark eyes half hidden by his navy black locks.

"_My _temper? Maybe you should stop being such a prick and then we wouldn't have to worry about my temper," I hissed, spinning about to return on my way.

"What fucking ray of sunshine you are," The Uchiha spat at me.

"What, you don't enjoy my company?" I growled.

"You're annoying," he stated coldly.

"Thanks for the memo." Turning, I flipped him off before pursuing my goal of reaching home before having to leave for training.

When I shut my front door behind me, Oka's voice echoed from the kitchen,

"Kyoko? Is that you? Where have you been?"

"Yeah, it's just me, Oka. I was just at the park with Mai." Oka stepped into the foyer wearing a cream apron over her navy blue dress, her dark hair hiding tired green eyes.

"Iruka called," Oka informed me, a hint of scold behind her voice, "He said that you have been falling asleep in class again. He also mentioned that you are going to have training every night from now on."

"Yeah, that would be correct." I skipped up steps, rushing from Oka's piercing gaze.

"Make sure you leave in no more than ten minutes!" Her voice echoed off the wooden walls as I opened the rice paper door that revealed my plain room. Plopping down on the bed, I stared at the ceiling of my room as I clicked the power button on my radio. Screaming guitars and hard drum beats blocked out the rest of the world. I finally glanced at my clock, noting that I was already late.

I sighed but got up and snatched up extra kunai in case of any target practice. Throwing myself out the frame of the window, I landed lightly on the ground, gravity forcing me low to the ground with a light thud.

I sprinted to the Training Fields where I found Iruka waiting for me, already peeved. Iruka was waiting at the edge of the fields, his frown giving away the irritation of my lateness. But when I appeared, he gave me a slight grin which I refused to return. I greeted him with a scowl, crossing my arms as a signal of my aggravation of being forced here. The sun was now giving off its last rays before it disappeared as we entered the thick woodland. The trees were a solid wall about Konoha, their strong wood trunks making a sturdy border about the town. The trees receded to create a clearing within the forest, making one of the training fields for shinobi. Most of the other fields were already cleared as the night also brought with it the chilled temperatures that not many shinobi would put up with for just regular training. Across the clearing, a boy was leaning against one of the trees, also perturbed by my tardiness.


	2. A Loosening of the Lock

The boy spun to face us, his hands shoved deep into his pockets and a scowl set across his face. His eyes glittered with animosity, and I returned it with the same look of disgust at the predicament.

I immediately turned on my heel in an attempt to vacate the clearing but Iruka clasped the collar of my shirt and yanked me back. His grip stayed tight against my struggles to escape as the boy made his way to join us. Iruka began,

"It's nice to see that you finally decided to show up Kyoko. But from now on, please show up on time." I turned my head to glower at Iruka before giving up on my escape.

"I doubt I will show up at all; you didn't happen to mention I would have a training partner." My icy words were directed somewhat at Iruka but also at the boy who was now deemed my training partner.

"You know now." Iruka insisted that it really didn't matter but trust me, it mattered.

"I don't work well with bastards," I stated, crossing my arms again.

"Bitch isn't exactly my type of punching bag; they complain too much." The boy scoffed off my name calling, returning with his own.

"Arrogant shitheads are just as bad. I'll remember your technical name next time, Uchiha," I hissed, fixating my glower on my raven haired training partner.

"It's not like you could win anyway, Tanaka." He challenged, his cold wit only fanned the flames making my blood boil as I glared at him.

"I will send you home crying." My green irises connected with his obsidian pupils, red flickering quickly through their strands and both sets of eyes glittering at the fact that they were only inches from an anathema. Iruka interrupted us by stepping in between Uchiha's and my close proximity. But before Iruka fit in a word, I turned my angry glare to him.

"Why am I even here? I don't see some need worthy of threatening to hold me back because Uchiha needs a partner won't drool over him when they fight! I'm sure you can get one of the other students to help Uchiha."

"It's not _me._ It's _you_ who needs _my_ help." Uchiha narrowed his eyes further, my attention switching between the two shinobi. Iruka stayed silent, my cross remarks not able to mitigate his hardened exterior.

"Why would I need _your—_"

"He's right, Kyoko," Iruka responded. His voice was stern, serious about the words that he stated so truthfully.

But it was a lie. It had to be. My face dropped as did my guard, my emotions clearly displayed for the two other shinobi to see.

"What?" I cried. I didn't give Iruka a chance to repeat. "Why would I ever be in need of his help?"

"It's a talent we believe you possess." Iruka was still talking in random babbles of information to try and make the information easier to take but none of it helped.

"Are you high?" I deadpanned, slightly out of it as I spoke. I bit my tongue back, not allowing any more of the snide remarks popping into my head to be spoken.

"Do you remember The Hidden Storm Village, Kyoko? Any of your training?"

***CLICK***

What the fuck?

The click was blunt, not reverberating as most sounds did against all the trees that surrounded us at the moment. I was caught off guard even more by this sound, this break in the silence of the woods. But neither Iruka nor Uchiha seemed phased by the sound; in fact Iruka hadn't stopped babbling.

"The last time I had conversed with Reina, she said you had started to show signs that the Ryoukegan was developing quickly…" Iruka's voice trailed off as his gaze returned to me. Another thought hit Iruka. "What about Reina?"

I rubbed my temples from the light thudding pain that was echoing about my skull from distant and strained recognition.

"Kyoko?" Worry lined Iruka's voice as he spoke to me, my ear oblivious to the sound. I spun on my heel, retreating from the clearing again but now with more urgency than my earlier attempts. "Where are you going Kyoko?" Iruka's hand clamped down on my shoulder and I easily gave in, plopping onto the ground.

"What's wrong now?" Sasuke sounded exasperated and I could almost see the bored scowl that usually accompanied the tone of ennui.

"Shut up," I ordered through gritted teeth. Finally grasping some sense of clarity, I returned to standing. Iruka sent me one nervous glance before starting our training.

As Iruka set us to spar, I faced the Uchiha; his eyes blazed a deep crimson red, like that of a black cherry ripe to be picked. He took an offensive stance, automatically putting me on the defense to start the match. His first attack was fast and precise, his fist connecting fully with my side. I reacted quickly to his advances before a kick hit my side painfully following many other attacks and I held the spot where it had hit, trying to refill my lungs again.

I quickened my speed, darting at Sasuke before he could raise a defense. My fist grazed his cheek lightly and went past his face before I open-handedly grabbed the back of his neck to throw his torso into my knee with force. Spinning, I attempted to land my other foot into his side to no avail.

"Not in this lifetime Tanaka…" Sasuke's voice smirked dangerously, his panting breaths matching mine. His crippling hand gripped my ankle tightly, the other hand still stiffened in the block he had used only seconds ago. I twisted in his grasp and ran my hands across the soft grass, which was crisp from the recent rains, in an attempt to retaliate. I managed to twist around but my foot was not released as I had hoped and his muscles tensed as he flung me into the ground. Pressing one foot down between my shoulders in triumph, I glared up at him.

"You lose," he stated blandly, a victorious smirk across his face.

Surging up, I sent my proud partner to the ground and jumped on top of him, pressing his shoulders deeper into the dirt.

"Who won again? Just to clear things up…" Uchiha averted his gaze in anger, his brows furrowed. Just to add to the annoyance, I pressed all my weight forward to make sure my presence was still registered in the Uchiha's mind.

"Get off of me," he growled. He glared at me as I thought over whether I wanted my victory to end just yet. I finally stepped off of him, purposefully sighing.

"Are we done?" I watched Iruka think over my question. Then suddenly, the image of Iruka disappeared and I spun around to block Sasuke as he attempted to make me drop my guard. "Not now, and not ever will your genjutsus work on me, Uchiha." I held my block strong as the Uchiha tried to force the protection down and out of his way. Both of our arms shook with the force that was against them until the real Iuka stepped between us. We snarled at each other, the hatred for the success of the other throughout the battle apparent.

"To answer your question Kyoko, yes. Be here, tomorrow night at the same time." I bit my tongue back, instead favoring to give Iruka a livid glower before rushing away as quickly as possible.


	3. Fights Over Nothing

With a rather large thud, I knocked my forehead against the desk in front of me, beginning my daytime nap early. I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before so the nap was even more inevitable. I had been plagued with nightmares of a place that seemed familiar yet I had never seen before.

Feeling stares at my back, I swiveled my head around to two sets of eyes, one on the other side of the room, one just outside the door, both of whom I didn't want to talk to. The first set decided to make her move and approach Mai and me with a new found bubbly confidence.

"Kyoko! Hey!" Sakura's voice echoed across the classroom as I glared at her. As she threatened to come forward even more, both Mai and I gave her dark looks. Sakura hesitated as she approached but continued indefinitely before sitting in the seat in front of me and spinning around. She waited expectantly for me to respond with my own joyful greeting which she should have known wasn't going to happen. When she realized this, she continued as if I had greeted her. "So I heard that you have training with Sasuke-kun every night, Kyoko." I only grumbled at her remark and Mai was glowering at the pink haired kunoichi.

"Go away," Mai muttered, flicking her senbon between her fingers. More people entered the classroom and Mai's gaze turned to the entering student. Hiro's already unwavering gaze on Mai changed to a scowl, returning the dark glare he gave her. Sakura was about to begin talking again but I didn't want to hear anymore. Then I was saved. Somewhat.

"SASUKE-KUN!" Sakura squealed as the Uchiha entered the room. Sasuke stood next to my desk in silence and ignored the giggling pinkette, his glare switching between Mai and me.

"What the fuck do you want, Uchiha?" At first, he was silent.

"I have a first name," he corrected me after a hesitation.

"Good for you. And that would be your last name," I stated blandly as Sasuke's glare darkened. "Back off," I hissed.

"Or what, bitch?"

"How about you say that to my face, coward?" I now rose to my feet, my fist clenched on the desktop. Sasuke turned back around to come face to face with me so that we were at the same eye level. Uchiha repeated the remark, slowly lengthening out each syllable as if I hadn't understood.

"Or what?" My anger flared up and got the better of me, as it usually did.

"I'll kick your ass." The Raven haired boy scoffed at my comment which only made my blood come to a simmer.

"You wish you could, Tanaka."

"You know I could, dipshit." Mai was next to me as we stared each other down.

"Bitch."

That was it.

So I jumped at Uchiha and my fist landed on its target: his face. He stumbled back a step before attacking me just as violently, his fist making contact with my cheek. The whole class was watching in awe as we fought, none of them trying to stop us. His fangirls were cheering on their precious Sasuke as more attacks were thrown. I tackled Uchiha to the ground trying to get the upper hand only to be flipped and pinned to the floor. Pushing up, I was now in control of the fight until a pair of arms wound about my waist and hoisted me off Uchiha. I was now struggling in Mizuki's grasp as Sasuke was thrashing in Iruka's, both of us scowling at the other.

"BOTH OF YOU! CUT IT OUT!" Iruka was yelling and his voice reverberated throughout the classroom and any eyes that weren't already on us were now paying full attention. Blood was smeared down my cheek, dripping onto the wood floor. Mizuki pushed me forcibly into my seat where I stayed, my enraged glower still trained on Uchiha. He only glared back, the same amount of hatred conveyed in the onyx pupils. Obviously, his original reason for approaching me was now forgotten.

With the excitement of the morning over, the anxiety of the day took its place. A restless aura filled the room as if everyone was holding their breath to see who Iruka had put together as three man teams. Mai and I shared a quick glance as Iruka shuffled pages around on his desk.

"Here are your teams. After all of you are split, you will wait here for your team leader to give you your first training assignment." Iruka's gaze traveled across the room, falling on each student for only a second.

"Team 7: Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Uzumaki Naruto." I punched the air in triumph as my joy overflowed. Sakura was almost squealing with delight as Naruto sent a glare at Sasuke. Sasuke just looked completely pissed with both of his new teammates. Iruka continued, "Team 8, Aburame Shino, Hyuga Hinata and Inuzuka Kiba." Shino and Kiba seemed very nonchalant about their team but I knew Hinata was upset that she wasn't with Naruto. Iruka announced the next team, "Team 10, Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Choji." Ino sighed loudly. Shikamaru smirked, and Choji continued, well he didn't ever stop, eating so I didn't expect him to now. Iruka announced, "Team 11, Tanaka Kyoko, Saito Mai, and Kimura Hiro." Mai's mouth dropped just as far as mine, if not further.

"What?" Everyone's eyes turned to the outburst. "Iruka, I will not be on a team with that bastard Kimura!" Mai was crying out in anger, her venomous gaze fixed upon the very person she was speaking of. I heard someone mutter an ouch but she continued where she had left off, "Isn't there anyone else to be on our team!" Hiro glared back at her and then sent a fierce glance at me which I only happily returned. Iruka shook his head,

"No, these teams are final. Now sit down, both of you." He slammed his hand on the desk to add emphasis to his word and I grudgingly complied, crossing my arms in the process. Mai stayed standing, her fists balled at her side and the senbon stuck hatefully back up into her hair. Her bright azure eyes were sparkling with animosity which was only met with the same amount of hatred from Hiro's bronze eyes.

She eventually parked herself back into her seat, pushing back up onto two legs to try and pent out some anger by focusing on not losing her balance. The whole room seemed to relax now as the anticipation of knowing who was on what team with who dissipated.

We all sat back, relaxing as the noise and everyday chatter grew in the small classroom. Mai, drowning in her own animosity, kept her mouth shut and I let her be to calm down. I leaned back in my seat and tapped my foot lightly to an imaginary beat as we waited. I watched the classroom with faint interest, Mai now returning to twiddling the senbon and pricking herself in the process. A low string of profanities came from her mouth as she wiped the blood on her leg.

Slowly, teams trickled their way from the room, following their senseis like ducklings following the mother duck. My patience was starting to slip through my fingers as we waited, and waited and waited. Finally the door slid open; a woman walked in.

"Team 11? Is this the right room?"

"Yeah, that would be us," Mai still seemed pretty pissed as she pented some of her anger at the innocent sensei. The woman looked us over and said,

"Well come on then. Time's wasting." The woman turned on her heel, disappearing from our sight quickly as she expected us to follow. We rushed out of the Academy, searching for the sensei as we went to find she had already started on her way. We followed the beacon of silver hair as it darted here and there ahead of us, disappearing from our vision only to resurface seconds later.

When the woman stopped, we were in the park and not one word had passed between the four of us. Our sensei leaned against one of the light posts and I parked myself on a bench. Mai sat next to me as Hiro sat on the backrest with his feet on the seat on the other side of Mai. The woman took our appearances in slowly, allowing her gaze to stop at each of us for a good period of time.

"Ok, so tell me something about yourselves. You there, brunette, you start," the woman sent her a dazzling smile, her dark eyes flashing. Mai glanced up at her from the senbon in her hand.

"My name is Mai Saito," she informed.

"Saito as in the senbon wielders?" Mai nodded a yes. Sensei scrutinized her once more before she pointed to Hiro.

"Hiro Kimura," Hiro told her. Sensei again, scrutinized Hiro over individually as if looking for some sort of change in the last couple seconds. Then she pointed to me.

"I'm Kyoko Tanaka."

"Are you going to tell us who you are?" Hiro asked curiously, the silence between us becoming slightly irritating. Sensei was silent for another minute.

"I am Rika Hatake," she told us curtly. Rika didn't continue so Mai asked,

"Are we going to train today or do we have the afternoon off?" Rika smiled. Or what I guessed was a smile. More like an evil smirk because her eyes were now flashing as though there was some inside joke behind what Mai had asked.

"We'll start today. Meet me at the training fields in an hour," she ordered. We nodded and Mai smirked. I looked at her curiously as she stared off into space and just smirked. Then, she shot her arm up in the air. At first I didn't know what she had done but then I noticed that Hiro was now on the ground, glowering at her. She had thrown him off the bench.

Mai walked away as if nothing had happened and Hiro slowly returned to his feet. I chuckled under my breath as he sent a glare my way. I only too graciously returned the glower, still laughing.


	4. The Thing I Didn't Remember

When I got to the training field, I was panting and Sasuke was waiting. Sanding a glare my way, he grumbled,

"You're late."

"Deal with it, dipshit." I had just been through a long day of training with Rika; non-stop teamwork exercises, most of which had ended terribly, going on until about five minutes before my nightly training.

"I don't have to help you at all."

"Then why are you?" My frustration level had jumped from a minimum to a medium as he kept chastising me for my tardiness. Again.

My relaxing didn't last long as Iruka had us up for target practice. Taking out the weapons in my holster, I scrutinized which one I wanted to practice with. An audible "Hn" came from Uchiha, which only received a glare from me as I picked up the pile of weapons to set beside me. Iruka led us to two targets, both crudely painted onto a wooden board and attached to the tree trunk.

"Once you hit 2/3 of your weapons in the center, you can leave. If you hit less, start over until you get it." Iruka gave us each an encouraging nod as I threw my first weapon, which embedded itself in the tree bark just beside the target.

"Nice aim, Tanaka," Sasuke snorted. With a dull thud, his first kunai dug into the center circle of the target. Just to prove to him I could hit the target just as he could, I threw two shuriken, one landing in the center of my target, one in the center of his.

"You were saying, Uchiha?" He only scowled and concentrated more intently on his target, landing three kunai in the center yet again. "Someone's had a bad day. Anything you want to talk about Sasuke_-kun_?" I knew that my remarks only fuelled his anger; precisely why it was so much fun. Another of my kunai landed in the center of my target, thudding dully in the wood as my others had.

"How about shutting your damn mouth, Tanaka. And call me Sasuke-kun one more time, I dare you." He words dripped with the venom of his threat, implying more than he would say.

"I see someone had a _really _bad day. And you know I can't turn down a dare _Sasuke-kun_." I turned to face Uchiha, emphasizing the annoying nickname as I spoke. His hand froze as it retracted and his eyes glowered crossly at me as I stuck out my tongue in the most mocking way possible. Turning his eyes back to the target, Sasuke released his rage on the target, throwing his shuriken violently enough to run a crack the center of the target. I rolled my eyes at his violent yet silent outburst.

Out of the 25 weapons I had, only 15 of the kunai hitting the center circle. The other ten had landed just outside the circle besides the one that hit the actual trunk of the tree. As I reached the target and began pulling the weapons from the target, a kunai whizzed past my face, thudding into the target aggressively. I whipped my head about, my eyes narrowing and anger bubbling in my chest. Uchiha smirked at me, the type of smirk only an Uchiha can have.

"Hand slipped," He covered, the smirk only growing as I mumbled a string of curses at him under my breath.

"Stupid son of a bitch…" Gathering up my kunai, I returned to my spot and began throwing again, my arm snapping out faster and harsher. I was going to be mature about this. Then an amazing, wonderful yet devilish thought crossed my mind. Suddenly, maturity didn't matter so much.

A bright smile spread across my face and my demeanor instantly cooled before I spun around and approached Uchiha. He stopped throwing, watching me suspiciously as I came towards him. I think my grin was coming off more as a devious smile than a candid one. I looked up at him, my eyes connecting with his as I sweetened my voice so it sounded more like sugar dripping off my tongue.

"I understand completely; we all make mistakes." He was till eyeing me speciously as if he knew what was going on behind my eyes. Then I rammed my hand into his gut, catching him completely off guard. My knuckles collided with strong muscles which tightened under my hand. With a groan, Sasuke fell to his knees in pain. "Whoops, hand slipped." Sasuke's pained onyx glare was even more enraged now, his glare containing sparks of fire in its depths. "Oh and Sasuke-kun," my voice was still like syrup, saturated with sweetness which abruptly turned sour and threatening, "Ever do something like that again and you'll see how well my aim is when I aim lower." Spinning on my heel, I picked up his last kunai and pitched it into the target where it drove into the center. Sasuke was just standing as I collected my things and prepared to leave. "See you tomorrow Iruka."

I ambled through the branches, making my way towards home, when I heard a rustle of leaves.

"Stop following me. It's getting on my nerves," I snapped at the familiar chakra signature. Sasuke appeared from the tree to my near left.

"I wasn't following you," he insisted. I rolled my eyes; what an ass.

"That's what I would consider it, unless you want to call it stalking," He shoved his hands in his pockets and his eyes were trained on me. He gaze made me uncomfortable in my own skin. "What the hell is wrong with you?" His gaze didn't falter or flinch.

"Although it's been years since we really knew each other, normally when I punch someone in the gut, they at least want to fight or just stay away completely. The fact that you're just _following_ me is plain odd. So what is wrong?" He still didn't react. Maybe he thought I was kidding. Which I was but at the same time, I wasn't. "Whatever. Just go annoy someone else why don't you." Sasuke stopped and slid in front of me, directly in my path. I swiftly moved around him, but he only counter-acted and pinned me to the nearest tree.

"Are you always this livid or is it just me?" I refused to answer his question. Sasuke let me by and I continued walking as if nothing had happened. "Why are you still here?" I asked irately.

"I don't know. Because a loser like you could easily get attacked by some freak."

"At the moment, you're that freak. Besides, I can take care of myself," I spat at him. My house appeared and I found a way to finally get rid of Uchiha. "By the way, Sakura's my neighbor so unless you want to be attacked, I would leave." He suddenly disappeared and I figured he was gone for good.

Haven of my bed awaited me as I skipped up stairs at a time before my door slammed shut behind me. Rubbing my eyes, stinging and dry from exhaustion, I plopped down on my springy bed, drowsiness already taking a hold on my mind.

It wasn't until I heard a chuckle that I realized I wasn't the only one in my room. "You are a persistent bastard…get out of my house, Uchiha." My eyes fluttered open heavily first to view my ceiling, then to turn towards the raven haired shinobi sitting at my desk. Another low chuckle came from Sasuke's lips as if he knew something I didn't. I turned my head over away from the shinobi and closed my eyes again, hoping for this all to be a very awful dream.

"Why did you care what was wrong?" I kept my back to Sasuke, my eyes widening as realization hit me like a chilled splash of water. My stomach dropped.

"Why are you in my room you pervert!" My hiss rose into a fit of anger as the Uchiha smirk played at Sasuke's lips. He decided to try stay there, just to annoy me more because he knew I wouldn't fall asleep if he didn't leave. "Don't make me call Sakura."

"You wouldn't dare." His smirk disappeared instantly at the mentioning of his pinkette fangirl and his eyes narrowed into angry slits.

"Watch me," I stated defiantly, standing and going to the window closest to the Haruno house. As I slid the window open, Sasuke's hand clapped over my mouth. My angered protests were muffled by his hand as Sasuke used his free hand to slam the window shut again. Sasuke took his hand off, glaring at me.

"You never answered me." His smirk tugged back at his lips as he saw me baffled by the change of subject.

"Get out!" Knowing he had won the battle, Sasuke threw himself out the other window frame that was furthest from the Haruno household, dissipating and mixing in with the darkness of the trees. He didn't need to say one more word to push me over the edge, he had caught me and he knew it. My anger swelled until I reached for my radio and turned the volume on max. My music overflowed the room and most likely woke the neighbors but I really didn't care at all; it may have been childish but I started throwing a small tantrum.

I eventually calmed and flopped down on my bed, pulling out a wooden box. I shuffled through it: a picture of Oka and I at a house I didn't recognize, a picture of a nin I only somewhat remembered, and a map with some of my scrawled handwriting on it. A hitai-ate with a strange symbol was on the bottom. Why didn't I remember this? My fingers traced over the symbol on the hitai-ate.

This was normal anymore. Whenever I was upset, I would pull this out and shuffle through the things I didn't remember.


	5. Better Than TV

All three of us stood before the Hokage, Rika standing just behind us as she read over the sheet we had just been given. Rika's eyes darted over the written phonetics smoothly as the Hokage scrutinized each of us with keen, aged eyes. His head was resting on his creviced hands, the white fabric that billowed around his face and the front angle of his hat covering whatever expression he had. It was difficult to imagine that this elderly man in front of me was truly the most advanced ninja of Konohagakure.

Not much time passed before we were ushered out by Rika, who was leading us to our mission's location along Konoha's twisting and winding interconnecting array of roads and alleys. The streets were relatively calm at this early time, only a few shopkeepers opening their shops and only a small amount of buyers wondering from stand to stand, searching for whatever necessities they happened to need. It was even quiet enough to hear the flapping of flags and banners as the wind whipped by them.

I took a sideways glance at my teammates; Hiro had his hands fused to his pockets and his hair was still a mess of askew deep coffee locks, random inklings of phrases as he walked; Mai was still rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Rika…Rika was skipping.

"What is our mission, Rika?" Mai glanced over her shoulder at our giddy sensei, who only handed up the paper. Mai's eyes lazily scanned the sheet. "We're painting?" My already closed eyes squeezed shut even tighter. Hiro was completely silent.

"Don't worry, there are much worse missions you can be given. You should have heard the mission Onii's team got." Rika seemed amused by her own thoughts while the three of us continued to grumble as we came closer to the apartment of our client. Our footsteps tapped on the packed dirt path, the sound reverberating through the empty streets.

Upon reaching the door, Rika gingerly put forth a slightly scarred fist and rapped on the wooden door. There was no reply. Rika repeated this to only get the same response: none what so ever. Clenching my fingers to my palm, I smacked my own fist against the rough wood of the door, chafing my knuckles as I did. Again, there was no reply. Rika glanced at the mission sheet again, as if to check if we had the right address. At full force, Mai's foot collided with the door and she stormed into the house.

"We're coming in!" Mai's shout could probably be heard not just in this apartment but also in the apartments adjacent. Rika blinked a few times before she followed the rest of us into the apartment. A shinobi was leaning against the wall a few feet from the door, his hand circling over his eyes to try and keep himself awake.

The shinobi's messy brown hair was half hidden under his hitai-ate which was tied on backwards. "Oh…morning Genma-sensei. This must be your new apartment." Mai greeted our client casually as she ventured deeper into the apartment. Genma lifted his head to connect the face with the voice of his student.

"Ah, I should have known it was you, Mai." He glanced at his door, which was now holding onto the door frame by only one of its three hinges. "I haven't been in my new apartment one week and you already have destroyed some part of it. I guess fixing my front door will be your training tonight." The shinobi withdrew a senbon from who knows where and placed one end delicately between his teeth. I could tell where Mai got the habit from now.

Genma's vision drifted over each of us lethargically; I raised an eyebrow at him as his gaze rested on me.

"And this must be the Kyoko I've heard about." He made a conscious pause. "Mai," Genma turned to where Mai had disappeared inside her sensei's house, "Nothing gives you the right to rifle through my fridge." Mai reappeared next to her sensei with her fingers clasping a bright green apple.

"And I know that I've known you since before I had cognitive memory but you always say that and I always get food in the end." Mai took a bite of the apple. Genma sighed as if he already knew this fact and had been reminded of it many times before.

"So Rika, you're the unlucky sensei of this one and her…friends?" He stated this as more of a question, raising an eyebrow at Hiro and I. My hair gently grazed my cheeks as I shook my head.

"So Genma, what did you bring us out here to paint?" Genma twisted the senbon with his teeth a few times, processing my question.

"Oh yeah, the back wall; it needs to be repainted." Genma mentioned to the back door, which he lead us through to reach the back lawn. Rubbing his hand over his eyes once more, he informed us of where the supplies were. "So just a solid coat of the blue. Ladders are on the side of the house but they'll only reach about half way up. The roof is open for you all to sit on to get the top. But I would be quiet; Kotetsu and Izumo live in the upstairs apartments and they probably wouldn't like to be woken up by pesky genin."

Rika followed Genma back into the apartment as they began to chat, leaving us to begin our work. Lifting the first sloshing bucket of paint, I tapped up the ladder and sprung off the last rung, landing delicately on the weathered roof tiles, slightly smoothed from years of aging. Many random items were strewn across the roof and it smelled lightly of mold.

"Hey, guess what," I lifted one of the objects: a neon yellow Frisbee, which I tossed down towards the ground, "found a Frisbee." The plastic disk collided with Hiro's head with a dull thud and a groan escaped from his lips. I didn't mean to do that; wish I had meant to.

"Great, thanks for the memo. Anything else up there you want to throw at me." Hiro's voice was pained and through his clenched teeth.

"Yeah, there's this cinderblock but I can't lift it very high." A sarcastic huff reached my ears as I picked up another object and dropped it casually over the edge of the roof. "This baseball on the other hand is quite light." I grinned when another groan of pain came up from the ground. Mai giggled from the top of the ladder where she was swiftly swiping the wet paintbrush across the surface of the back wall in between two windows. Using a bit of rope from the roof, I constructed a slipshod swing and dropped it from the side of the roof before scurrying down with the paint bucket in hand. Tying the handle of the bucket to the rope, I began making uneven stabs at the wall, the periwinkle paint coating what used to be the white wall easily.

Almost a whole hour or two had passed without many problems. Everything seemed to be going well until I there was a scuffing of the ladder scraping against the wall as it was moved.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Kimura!" Mai was clutching to the top of the ladder with white knuckled hands as Hiro was nudging the metal structure out of his way to the wall.

"What does it look like? I need to get to the wall and your ladder is in the way." He grumbled, still forcing the ladder to move with Mai and her bucket of paint still on the top.

"Let me at least come down first! This bucket of paint is going to spill if you keep moving this ladder. That, or I'll fall." Mai was hissing furiously at the shinobi on the ground as she hugged the rung even tighter to her torso.

"I'm willing to take that chance." With one last shove, Hiro returned to his work. A man who I assumed owned the apartment next to Genma's glanced out his back door at our ruckus. His dark brown hair spilled in front of his sullen face and there were deep purple pools of sickness hanging under his eyes. Coughing into his hand a few times, he watched as the painting ensued.

Mai slowly but surely detangled her arms from the ladder rung, only to lose her footing and drop down a rung or two. My attention darted between my work and my best friend, making sure she got back up without slipping again. As Mai skillfully slid back onto the seat, her paint brush flipped out of the bucket of paint and plummeted to the ground. Unfortunately, it missed.

Hiro, his face covered with flecks of blue, glowered up at our giggling figures as the brush had bounced off of the ladder, splattering the blue liquid in all directions.

"Did you drop that!"

"No, the sky just gave birth to a paintbrush. Calm the fuck down, it was an accident. Now can you pass the brush back up here, I want to finish this part of the wall soon." Mai glanced out at the sun, which was steadily climbing higher in the sky. Hiro's hushed mumbles were quieted even more as he bent down and grabbed Mai's paintbrush from his bucket. Mai sent a quick amused glance my way which I returned.

Then it hit her. Mai now had a wet paintbrush in her lap and a blue was smudged across her cheek and the bridge of her nose. Hiro smirked triumphantly up at her before returning to his work, the smirk still leaving remnants on his face. Mai narrowed her eyes dangerously, sending Hiro death glares as she pulled back her hand with her paintbrush soaked with blue paint in hand as a projectile.

The man who was now leaning against the back wall outside his door had a small smile graced across his lips as if we were an amusing show.

"Hey, Kimura!" Mai called down to the shinobi who looked up to meet a speeding paintbrush.

"What?"

"Why are you an asshole?"

"Why are you a bitch?" Wiping the paint from his face with a sleeved fist, Hiro sent a swift kick into the side of the ladder, sending it shaking and rattling like a falling tower. Mai held onto the ladder fearfully as I dipped my hand into my paint bucket for a glob of the slippery paint. It dripped off my fingers and plummeted down unto the shinobi. I held my sides as if they were going to fall apart as the paint plastered Hiro's hair to his head. He sent his own glob up which hit me square in the face. Leaping from my perch to the top of the ladder, I splashed the whole paint bucket over his head.

"Your color definitely isn't blue," I hissed, the words drenched in irritation. Sparks crackled between our glares before another bubble of blue dripped down his front. Mai's hand dripped with the azure liquid as he turned his gaze to her, tossing his own splotches of the paint. Mai was dodging his projectiles of paint when he tackled her to the ground. That's when I first noticed that all three paint buckets had been overturned; a small pond of the paint was now soaking the grass.

The two of them rolled around in the paint for a second before I intervened and helped Mai up. As I tried wiping some of the paint off my face, Hiro sent a jab into my side and my feet lost traction in the paint and I slid in the puddle of paint. The liquid color soaked my clothes and hair, I could feel it rubbing against my skin and making my clothes heavy as they retained the paint. Mai and Hiro weren't long to follow me to the ground in the puddle of blue. All three of us were rolling around, fighting, kicking, and punching as much as we were able. Out of nowhere, three other people were kicking and screaming with us, a blur of movement and fighting.

"What's going on here?" a new voice entered the area. All of us were tangled on the ground, Mai pinning Hiro finally. We froze at the voice and slowly turned to notice our surroundings. The two tenants of the upper apartments as well as the brunette man and Rika and Genma were watching us with interest, waiting to see how long it would be until we stopped. Although all of them were on the verge of laughter, Rika was the only one giggling aloud. In contrast to them was Team 7, who was mixed in with us and the paint.

"Onii! Don't ruin the fun!" Rika scolded the new voice. A man, silver hair messily ruffled, was watching us with his eye, the other one being covered by his hitai-ate as he scanned over the scene displayed before him with his dark eye.

"Oi Kakashi! You ruined it! Now we'll never know who won! And I was betting the brunette girl would kick that boy's ass within five minutes!" I turned my head over to glare at the navy haired shinobi leaning out the left window who had addressed the new arrival. All of us genin had begun to realign ourselves and wipe off excess paint.

"You were betting on us?" I spat up at the shinobi, my new anger directed towards him. The one with longer chestnut hair that covered one of his eyes allowed a smirk to spread across his face.

"This is more entertaining than television! Rika, you need to bring your team here more often!" My eyes travelled over the each of the other genin, taking in their azure appearances. Even Sakura's hair looked more blue than pink.

"I can't believe they were placing bets on us…" Mai wiped off as much of the excess paint as she could but her clothes were still now all different shades of indigo. "At least the wall is painted. They can't say we didn't finish the mission." Mai grinned as she stood up straight. That's when we noticed our audience was still watching.

"Pinky, Dumbass, Dipshit; what the hell are you looking at?" My eyes narrowed at my fellow genin.

"Two idiots who made me fall in a pool of paint." Sasuke couldn't help but let that smirk come across his face.

"You both look so funny! You're all blue!" Naruto was pointing at us, his head thrown back with laughter.

"You're just as blue." Mai's tone was low because it was obvious; well obvious to everyone except Naruto. I sighed heavily as I wiped more paint out of my hair.

"We didn't make you fall in. Why did you come back here anyways?"

"We heard screaming and cheering," Sakura gestured to the chuunin around her, "and wanted to see what was going on. Then we slipped in the pool here." Sakura twisted the edged of her dress to wring out as much paint as possible.

"Meaning, it's completely your own faults for falling in the paint." Mai wasn't paying much attention to them anymore; her attention was at the moment drawn towards nursing a cut on her arm, most likely from the fight only minutes ago. Naruto crossed his arms and sneered at me.

"Well maybe if you had been acting like **real **shinobi, maybe you would have been finishing your mission instead of fighting with the paint." Mai and I turned to glower at Naruto, our attention brought up by the condescending tone of his voice.

"What did you say Naruto?" Mai's voice had defined threat lining it, and my glare only made the threat more serious.

"Um…" A sweat drop appeared on Naruto's forehead and he was fumbling his words before darting off and away from the yard. I shook my head at Naruto.

I continued wringing out paint that was obviously not coming off any more than it already had. The cracking paint on my skin just wouldn't let me be. Even though it shouldn't have bothered me too much, it did because it was there yet I could affect it in any way until I took a shower to get it off.

"So how about Ichiraku's?" Mai's cerulean eyes were reflecting the fatigue from the mission. Mai was cut off by Genma, who had placed an authoritative yet light hand on her shoulder.

"Not so fast. I still have a door that's hanging off its hinges." Mai laughed nervously as she grinned at her sensei. "Come on Mai. You can meet Kyoko at Ichiraku's later." With a grimace, Mai was trudged off towards the back door. Rika swept in behind their absence with Hiro next to her.

"Come on! We've got training!" Rika beamed at each of us brightly which only earned her two questioning and weary scowls. Directing her words towards me, "Iruka needs to speak with you about training tonight, Kyoko." I nodded once. Kakashi was attempting to reassemble his students to leave for another mission.

"Where'd Naruto go?" Kakashi swept his glance around the yard many times, hoping to see his orange-clad student.

Rika then added incentive to finish with training early, "After training, we can meet up with Mai and Genma for ramen at Ichiraku's." Suddenly, Naruto's blonde head popped around the corner.

"RAMEN!"

**Naruto Characters © Masashi Kishimoto**

**To Ease the Pain, Kyoko Tanaka, Mai Saito, Hiro Kimura, Rika Hatake, and this storyline © Me/Kikyo-chan/Midnight Writer 13**


	6. I Just Wanted Ramen

I fiddled absent mindedly with my chopsticks under the basking glow of Ichiraku's lanterns as the candles flickered behind the thin rice paper. The cook came up to me again, his warm smile and cracked voice offering a meal, but I just wasn't that hungry. Mai had texted me only minutes ago about how her mom was making her stay in for a "family meal" but she would sneak out after to meet me in the park.

"Kyoko!" a small shrill voice rang out in the stand as a small girl jumped up on the seat next to me.

"Hi Mira." The little girl bounced on her seat, her black hair whipping about behind her shoulders as she glanced excitedly around her. Mira's brother arrived shortly after and sat on her other side, his exasperation apparent from the scowl set in his face. "Sibling troubles Hiro?"

"Shush!" Hiro's command was a bark, forceful and raged, "Mira, don't run ahead of me! I won't take you out again if you run off like that every time!" Hiro leaned against the counter on one elbow, his head in his hands as his sister and I stared at him. Mira's grin slipped from her face as she stared at her brother, the excitement draining from her face.

"But-but onii—" Mira gazed at her brother, her blue eyes wide and woeful. Hiro turned his head in his hand to look at his sibling, his similarly dark hair spilling over his eyes and around his hand.

"Imouto," Hiro sighed, his sister's sorrowful gaze mitigating his anger. He turned his face back into his hand, using his fingers as a shield for his eyes. "I didn't mean it…" Mira's expression lit up as if she had just been told the greatest news of her life. Hiro sighed into his hand again, much to my amusement; whether he sighed at his sister's ability to control him or the fact that she was only seven was the question. Hiro continued grumbling into his hands as a waiter returned, asking if we would like anything.

"Shurinpu ramen," Mira piped up.

"Gyuuniku ramen please," I asked. The waitress's pen could be heard scratching onto her note pad as she took our orders. Last and definitely least, she turned to Hiro who ordered the same as his sibling. With the sound of other approaching children, Mira jumped down from her seat and went to join them in their chattering flock.

"Having fun on sibling duty?" A chuckle managed to escape as Hiro sent me a dark glower.

"You've got it. But I don't mind all that much." Hiro glanced over to his sister, her grinning face one out of a gaggle of many academy students. His eyes were glazed over with complete admiration and adoration, an emotion I had only known him to show his sister. I leaned over to him, following his gaze to his sibling. "She has you whipped. And she knows it too." I whispered, leaning back into my own seat. Hiro pushed himself back up to a sitting position as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I'm sure you would know." Hiro mumbled to himself as he blinked his eyes a few times to allow them to become accustomed to the late and shallow lighting.

"And how would I know that exactly Kimura_-onii_?" The waitress set all three bowls of ramen on the counter with a wooden thud. Finally using my chopsticks for their designed use, I clamped a few noodles and brought them to my mouth as Hiro's gaze burned into me. "What?"

"You don't have any siblings?" I raise an eye brow questioningly, wondering where the hell his logic was coming from. "Come on, you spend all of your time out of your house and are usually training or getting into some trouble. That practically screams attention deprived child." Now he looked to me for an explanation.

"Unless I don't have any siblings and I'm not attention deprived. What is your diagnosis now?" I took up more noodle and some of the vegetables in the bowl as Mira grasped her own bowl and returning to her friends. Hiro stared thoughtfully into a space somewhere in front of his eyes as he brought some ramen to his mouth.

"Why are you here alone then?" I rolled my eyes at Hiro's question, not really intending to answer. But Hiro's gaze was unnerving and he continued to question me.

"Why do you want to know?" My voice had risen, causing a few pairs of eyes to turn our way. Hiro stared at me as if I was insane, his gaze singeing my conscious.

"We are now teammates and the fact that I don't even know that you don't have any siblings shows that we're not a great team." He gave me a stern glance. "A good team can work together by using each other's strengths without even speaking. And we know nothing about each other. How are we ever supposed to be able to work together?" A rage filled snap was about to hiss out of my mouth when there was a loud racket.

"HEY GUYS!" Both Hiro and I immediately dropped to the counter, my forehead thudding against the wood counter and my bowl clanging in reaction.

"I see you decided to join us for ramen, Naruto…" Hiro's voice wasn't more than a mumble as Naruto occupied what was previously Mira's seat. Three other people sat to my left.

"And I see your team decided to come as well…" My mumble was half lost into the wood counter as I lifted my head to look at the three to my left: Sasuke who was staring at me like I was some misbehaving child, Sakura who was blushing and staring at Sasuke before waving at me quickly, and Kakashi who was reading some orange book. "Great. Now leave me alone. I am kind of in the middle of a conversation with my teammate here." All I got in response was a "hn" from the Uchiha. A growl escaped my lips and Naruto humphed. "What?" I question quickly.

"Look around. All the other seats have been taken up." I raised an eye brow at Naruto.

"Well, the ground is right there. Always has been and always will." I gestured with my hand to the dirt. Naruto crossed his arms across his chest in defiance to my suggestion. A hearty cough came from the jounin reading the book, to which I sent a quizzical stare. "Problem?"

"No no, no problem," he turned a page in his book as he paused to find his wording, "Just…observing."

"Answer my question." All of us turned towards Hiro, who was directing a glare at me.

"No. Not with all of them here."

"What question?" Naruto's anger towards me suddenly lifted as his curiosity took a hold.

"Naruto!" Sakura's tone was scolding, as if Naruto were a toddler.

"None of your damn business." I remained with my head on the table, this torture almost too much to take.

"So why are you here alone?" A hot, stinging rage was only getting worse as it became more and more pent up with all of their stares waiting for me to comply. But I forced the rage down, hoping it would explode in the process.

"It's better than being at home alone."

"What about your parents?"

"Oka's working. Oka works any hours that have the lowest amount of staffing because she doesn't have a young child who needs to be waited on hand and foot." The whole "Team" bit had gotten me to babbling on; as much as I disliked my team at the moment, I wasn't about to let us be a shitty team.

"And your Otou?" Not only Hiro, but all of Team 7 seemed completely intrigued by our conversation. Even though this wasn't an amusing topic, I chuckled, the bitterness of the laugh still clinging to my tongue.

"Wow, you really know just how to hit a nerve don't you." I paused, hoping they would leave well enough alone. "If you know where he is, let me know." Everyone's voices seemed to have left them when they heard that; their tongues tied as a stifled silence draped over our group like a thin veil. Even the jounin had glanced up from his book.

"Do you remember him?" Sasuke was the one that asked this time, a shock to all of us.

"Not really." One of the few things I knew was that my father had the same partially red hair. I didn't even have a name or why he left; just that he wasn't here today.

"Wait," Sakura paused, trying to ask in a way that wasn't going to set me off, "You didn't die your hair that color?"

"No." Pushing my bowl forward to the waiting waitress, I pulled out my wallet. Everyone went silent again.

"So you don't miss him?" Sasuke spoke up, his voice the same coldness it had always been but something had changed in the tone. I tried putting my finger on what I heard but it was too subtle. I pulled out some of the papers from my wallet and placed them on the counter.

"You can't miss what you never knew. Now, leave me the fuck alone." Mira returned from her friends to tug on her brother's sleeve.

"Onii, are you ready to go?" Hiro glanced back at his sibling, her hand still gripping the edge of his shirt.

"Yeah, we can go."

Pulling weeds, walking dogs, helping shopkeepers on inventory, helping people with their groceries, finding a lost dog, saving some damn cat from a tree: quote unquote "missions" we genin had been given over the last couple weeks.

"What the hell is up with these missions! I'm gonna go insane if we have one more mission that has to do with someone's pet!" Mai cried out, hoping that the message had reached the Hokage who was only ten feet and a pair of oak doors away from where we sat in the hall, waiting for our next mission assignments. Rika was next to the three of us, a bright smile on her face as she stared straight forward at the wall. The guard in front of the Hokage's door ushered us into the office, his stern gaze following us the entire way. As the oak doors closed behind us, I noted that we weren't the only Team in the cramped room. The Hokage's stern, wizened gaze met us as we stood before his desk, Team 7 next to us.

"Why are they here?" Hiro questioned the Hokage, giving him a straight stare.

"A good question; this and all other questions will be answered if you will only listen to what I have to say." We all kept our silence, a blanket of quiet anticipation flooding the office as the Hokage's gaze travelled over each of us from behind his clasped hands.

"You all have been asking for harder missions: something I am unable to give you to handle on your own." He took a momentary pause, as if immersing himself in the heightened anxiety that packed the room. "So we will now begin both Team 7 and Team 11 on the village's first experimental Dual Team mission." Everyone's jaw seemed to drop, mouths now gaping in silence. But that was completely in contrast to what it sounded like in my mind: screams of protest.

**Naruto characters © Misashi Kishimoto**

**My OCs (Kyoko Tanaka, Mai Saito, Hiro Kimura, Rika Hatake, Takao, Kaizo, and Mira Kimura), this plot and this story © Midnight Writer 13/ Me **


	7. Break

I was shoved into the office, my hands bound behind my back by chakra. I stumbled around for a minute before my feet found their placing and I fell back into one of the Hokage's seats, my crossed wrists pressing into my spine.

"Damn, they caught you too." Mai's voice brought my attention to where she sat to my left. My view turned towards Mai; her fists, bound together by the same sort of chakra, were placed on her lap. Sighing, I glanced about the room, my eyes catching Team 7 standing to one side: Naruto was doing his own stupid little happy dance singing "We got a hard mission! We got a hard mission!" before Sakura smacked him over the head. The Hokage seated behind his desk, and his advisors buzzing around him like a hoard of chattering squirrels. Yes, I mean squirrels. I'm sure if one of us had dropped some acorns in front f the desk, the strange and gangly group of men would be over the desk in no time, scrambling for the food.

Suddenly, Hiro and Rika swept into the room, Hiro in the seat to my right and Rika just behind him. His hands, too, were bound. The Hokage's eyes travelled over each of us genin before making eye contact with Rika and Kakashi.

"As I was saying before we had a disruption," meaning when the three of us tried to escape, "All of you have complained that your missions are too easy. In fact, all of the teams have complained of this. But you are still just genin and are not yet mature enough to handle higher missions on your own." The Hokage paused as he breathed out a puff of gray smoke. "So, as I have said, we will be sending you on dual team missions. Your mission has asked for two of our best teams of genin seeing as your clients will already have a few of their own guards with them—" Sudden giggles bubbled up in my throat and escaped my mouth as I threw my head back against the seat. All three of us hand cuff bound genin burst out in laughter at the Hokage's statement. It wasn't long before my sides began to feel the lack of oxygen and I was gasping for air, hungrily breathing in the much needed oxygen.

"What's so funny?" Sakura's voice was but a mere pest and I didn't really have the breath to answer. We all slowly began to calm down; Mai had fallen almost completely out of her chair and onto the wood floor.

"What's so funny? You don't see it? Between the statements that you all are considered a good team and that we would work well together is hilarious!"

"Hey, are you saying that you're better than us!" Naruto was fuming as both Sakura and Sasuke glared at us.

"No, she's saying that there is no way in hell you all are any good together." I tried to stifle back more laughter which only half worked. The Hokage was now pressing a finger to his temple as another puff of smoke curled to the ceiling. The squirrel advisors began chattering even louder, to the Hokage and between themselves. Before one more insult could be hurled from either party, The Hokage cleared his throat, halting all shouting and squirrel babble.

"I assumed it would be easier for your teams to work better together. Seeing as Rika and Kakashi are siblings, they will also work better together." All of us held our peace, processing his statement. My own vision travelled between the two jonin; one had a slight smile as she watched in amusement at the now again frantic advisors, the other's nose shoved deep into a small orange book.

"If I may, Lord Hokage, you couldn't send my siblings and I on a mission together if you locked us together with handcuffs." The Hokage stared unbelievingly at Mai, another puff of smoke leaving his lips and curling up to the ceiling.

"Mai, I have seen you and Itaru; the two of you work together very well." Mai was left without a reply. "And, if I am correct, both Rika and Kakashi have agreed to be supervisors of this mission." Each jounin gave a slight nod to affirm their decision, much to the dismay of the rest of the genin. A silence then filled the office, buzzing and pressing in on my ears. Everyone held their tongues; I think it was mainly because we were all thinking of ways to voice our thoughts without disrespecting the Hokage. I kept my own lips shut tightly, fearing if they opened, I would regret what came out.

"What if we turn down the mission?" Hiro's question seemed candid enough, but we all knew the answer before the Hokage could speak. The elderly shinobi tilted the front corner of his hat down as if to hide his pensive face from the rest of the room.

"You have no choice; you all wanted harder missions and now you are getting one. You will depart to meet the clients immediately. Be warned, these clients are royalty and there will be attacks sent to try and kill them, meaning they will try to kill you. But again, some of their guards will be with them to aid you. Now, you have half an hour to collect any of your things you will need for this mission." His voice was close to monotone, his face still hidden by the shadow cast from his hat. I sat forward; forgetting of consequences and attempting to voice myself but the Hokage cut me off with one curt finalization. "Dismissed."

With that, we all were ushered out of the office, my hands still bound behind my back. For minutes outside the Hokage's office, I struggled against the surprisingly strong fetters as my fingers attempted to latch around the chains that were indefinable and impossible to grasp. After Rika finally dissipated the chakra, I sent her one last glower and left the building, entering out into the mid morning sunlight in a huff. Shielding my eyes from the sun, I began towards home, Mai just to my left.

It wasn't long before we arrived at the Saito household. A crash echoed from the upstairs floor as Mai slammed the door shut behind her. Although some of the Saito siblings were already living in their own homes, almost all of them spent much of their time in the original. A whirlwind of sisters rushed by me, their proximity so close, I had to step back to stay out of the war path. The closest thing to what I was seeing before me was, at the least, a lethal battle ground in the middle of a hurricane. Mai had disappeared into the house, searching for her things as her siblings bustled around her. The noise was starting to upturn my tranquility, a crash and screech echoing through the home every couple seconds. Most of the Saitos who passed me either completely ignored my presence or were too busy to notice me at all. Backing up, I avoided hitting the senbon protruding from the wall as I leaned against the wood paneling.

Mai reappeared from the center of a large gaggle of siblings heading to a dinner. The thing is, this was a normal night. All of the siblings, seven of them sisters, and only one of them being a brother, were always crazy and wound up over something. "Come on, Kyoko." Mai's voice was nothing higher than a growl, her fists balled at her side. Her bag was thrown over her shoulder; some clothes were peaking out of the top, showing how much she had rushed. More crashes erupted behind us as Mai and I headed in the direction of my house. Mai's mother, a brunette kunoichi, rushed out of the house behind us, calling after Mai.

"Mai, aren't you going to say goodbye to your family?" Even though that had been a question, both of us knew that Mai really didn't have any choice in the matter; Mai was caught in the snare and there was only one way of getting out. "You're going to be gone for so long, dear." Mai rushed forward, hugging her mother quickly.

"Say goodbye to everyone for me, I'm in a hurry, Ma." Mai's only brother, and definitely her closest sibling, came up behind his mother.

"You gonna leave before you even say goodbye, Imouto?" Mai rolled her eyes, huffing out an angered sigh. She quickly spun around, hugging him quickly before we returned to the road towards my house.

"Bye Aniki!"

"Have a good mission Mai. You too, Kyoko." Itaru and Mai's mother were swiftly becoming small dots as we distanced ourselves further from them, approaching my house.

The sounds of Konoha were beginning to dull as Mai and I came closer to the gates, most of the other mission's shinobi waiting. My canvas mission bag was thrown together haphazardly, weapons and bandage tape mixed in with the clothes alike.

"You have got to be kidding me…"

My—luckily former—classmates were all standing around the gates: chatting, waiting, sleeping, or doing whatever the hell they normally did as they all awaited the rest of the pack. Some of them looked up, some of them didn't, some looked completely pissed.

Hiro emigrated to join us, his isolation from the other genin not as obvious as ours was now.

"Can you not show up on time? We were supposed to leave an hour ago." Mai, who had thrown her bag down and sat on the roots of a tree, sent the dark haired shinobi a glare.

"So now that we're here, why aren't we leaving?" Mai ripped the senbon from her hair before twiddling it impatiently between her fingers. I tossed my bag on the ground before leaning against the rough bark of the tree to Mai's left.

"I thought this was just going to be us and the team of losers over there. What are the other teams doing?" I directed my question at Hiro with a lazy glance in his direction.

"Apparently we're all travelling together until those two teams will go on a different path to reach their clients."

"Do we even know who are clients are yet?"

"Nope." Minutes passed in silence between us as the sounds of the other genin and few jounin echoed in the clearing against our silence. As time passed in a lethargic pace, my eyelids began to droop in pure and untainted boredom as the weight I placed against the tree increased. Then a lump of wiggling fur jumped me. The dog pushed heavily into my lap, snapping my eyes open as I fell back so the muddy paws and dirt caked fur of the soaked down was on top of me, wiggling and rubbing as much dirt on me as possible. The dog hopped back on the ground, barking as if he was laughing at me, and ran back to his sniggering master.

"Hey Inuzuka-mutt! Control your damn dog!" Kiba was snickering under his breath as Akamaru took up his usual spot, perched on the Inuzuka's head since all the mud had now been passed to me instead of to Kiba's hair.

"Calm down! It's just a bit of mud; get over it and stop being such a spaz." Picking up a fistful of said mud, I hurled the projectile so it hit the dog shinobi square in the face. Wiping the dirt off his face viciously, the amusement on Kiba's face had now been replaced with irritation. I stood up off the ground, patting my hands over the mud to try and wipe it off. Kiba now stood before me, both him and his dog staring at me with dark, animalistic eyes.

"You're a bitch."

"And you are standing in an awful dangerous place if you ever want to have puppies, Mutt. I would back up if I were you." Kiba narrowed his eyes, his slightly slitted pupils becoming smaller behind his eyelids.

"Tch, you're all talk, Tanaka."

"Stay there, I dare you." Kiba remained where he stood before he flipped me off. My knee shot up as I grab his shoulders to hold him in place; let's just say I realized just how colorful Kiba's vocabulary was.

"Yeah, I'm completely talk." I don't think he heard much of what I said, well, I don't think anyone heard me over the howls from Kiba. What everyone saw was him doubled over on his knees, screaming his head off.

"FUCK YOU! THAT FUCKING HURT! WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR DAMN PROBLEM!"

"Beyond being forced to go on a mission with the lot of you, not a thing." Kiba sent a vile glare, mustering up a good amount of hatred which I knew I deserved; I would probably get hell for what I did later. But, none of the jounin knew what to do and Rika had learned that scolding us did little, so she just let us get this kind of stuff out of our systems. It was a good while but Kiba finally stood up and returned to his team with his dog back on his head. Plopping down next to Mai, who at the moment was in a fit of laughter, I glanced around the clearing.

"Who the hell are we still waiting for?"

"Team Seven's sensei, Kakashi or whatever." Rika, who had been chatting with the other team leaders, chose to instead occupy the lowest tree branch of the tree Mai and I were leaning against. Tilting her head up, Mai gazed at Rika with bright azure pupils.

"Hey, do you know where Kakashi is? He's late." Rika, bringing her index finger to her bottom lip in though, pondered the question.

"Well, Kakashi has always been late to these kind of things but he's normally only about an hour late so he should be here any minute…" As if on cue, Naruto let out a surprised yelp when his sensei placed a hand on his shoulder. Rika jumped down from the tree branch, withdrawing a scroll from her weapons holster. "Ok, so mission info…mission info…" Rika's eyes scanned the first few inches of the paper, possibly reading this stuff herself for the first time. "It says here, that we are going to be escorting the twin children of a Feudal Lord. Interesting…" Rika paused as she unraveled more of the crisp paper, her eyes darting over the phonetics. "They need the utmost protection…"

"The clients will be met on the edge of Fire Country, near a small market center." I stared at Rika, as did Mai and Hiro as if we didn't really believe her. She made eye contact with each of us her eyes wide and serious.

I shoved my hands deeper in my pockets, watching my feet as we travelled. Mai and I were towards the back, most of the other shinobi clumped together as teams; the only exceptions being Team 7, Hiro, and Ino who had found friends among others beyond their teams. Two of the jonin were placed at the front, the other two at the back of the group.

Our group had been travelling for at least a couple of hours now and only about ten minutes in, I pulled out my MP3 player and shoved one earbud in my right ear; the other earbud Mai took quickly.

"SHUT UP, INO-PIG! SASUKE WOULD NEVER WANT TO WALK WITH YOU!" My hopes of that one shout being all of the screaming were dashed as another piercing shout reached my ears.

"ACTUALLY, IT'S THE OTHER WAY AROUND, BILLBOARD BROW!" Ino's voice, now quieter, was still as shrill as it always was, "Right Sasuke-kun? You don't want to walk with ugly Billboard Brow, do you? I'll make her leave us alone."

"Tell her she's wrong Sasuke-kun! HE'S MY TEAMMATE, YOU UGLY COW!"

"HE WOULD RATHER BE ON MY TEAM ANYWAYS, BILLBOARD BROW!" The argument that most of the other shinobi were ignoring was almost impossible for me to ignore now. Their shouts kept rapping against my ears and pounding at my head.

"SASUKE-KUN—"

"Would you both just shut up already?" I kicked a rock out of the road, completely ignoring the shocked and almost enraged glares from Sakura and Ino. But both fell silent, their low growls returning to be directed at each other. Mai shook her head, some of her hair falling in her face. I stared up at the road ahead of us, the winding dirt and hills seemingly never ending.

"I'm guessing we're not going to be making it there in just one day?" Mai sent a questioning glance at Rika, who was walking with her sibling only a few feet behind us. It seemed as if everyone's attention was on Rika as she assessed how long our journey would be.

"Well, if I am correct, all four teams will be travelling for at least five days and then to reach our clients, it could be another two or three days." Hearing this information, I hung my head and a groan managed to escape my lips; Mai sighed in agreement.

"What was that for?" My head snapped up, my glower finally resting on Ino.

"What the hell does it matter to you?" Mai questioned the blonde, brushing the annoying strands of hair out of her vision. "It means that neither of us want to be on this stupid mission, especially with all of you."

"What do you mean! This is such a cool mission! It's a C rank and we're the special guards for royalty!" Naruto piped up, taking back to dancing happily.

"Yeah, it's just great," I retorted sarcastically, boring a hole in Naruto's head. I watched my feet with faint interest, memorizing the pattern quickly before noting how dark it began to grow.

The jonin gathered their teams together as we found our resting place for the night: a shaded clearing within the woods that surrounded the road. Rika directed each of us for different camp duties; Hiro was sent to help set up tents, Mai was sent to help cook, and I was told I would be cleaning up after dinner. Mai growled irately as she stormed over to where the other shinobi who were cooking stood brainstorming ideas for food. Plopping down on a log near the glowing fire, I began shuffling items around my bag aimlessly, not really hoping to do much beyond find a few extra kunai to replace in my holster. Rika joined me, remaining silent for a few brief seconds.

"Iruka told me of your training he had begun with you. He asked that we continued that training so after dinner, you and Sasuke need to meet with Kakashi and I," Rika stated, her dark gaze turning to me as I focused my attention further on finding my kunai. Rika gazed at me patiently, waiting for some sort of acknowledgement that I understood.

"Fine," I grumbled angrily, my finger brushing the very blade I had been searching for. I hiss in pain as small drops of blood pulsed out of the miniscule incision.

"DINNER'S READY!" Sakura's (annoying) voice echoed about the clearing as Mai sat next to me with two plates of food in her hand.

"Thanks," I sighed as I took a few test bites of the odd looking substance.

"It tastes better than it looks," she replied, taking her own bites of the gruel. I poked at the food with my fork before taking a tentative bite.

"It's not all that bad," I commented, taking another bite.

"Do you really not trust me to cook good food?" Mai questioned as she chewed on a bite of food.

"No, it's them I don't trust," I assured her, using my fork to gesture to the shinobi around us. No one seemed to hear my whisper as most of them continued eating casually; that is, with the exception of one shinobi.

"Hn…" The low, single-syllable sound scratched against my ears as I sent a dark glare at the nonchalant Uchiha. But I turned away and returned my attention to my diminishing food, stabbing it more violently than before. It was a slow process but eventually all of the plates were piled up high at the edge of one of the logs. After staring at the plates for a minute, I turned to Rika.

"I'm not doing this on my own, am I?" I sighed, turning to my sensei.

"Nope. You, Shikamaru, Shino, and Sasuke will be working together on camp jobs until we reach the clients," She told me, placing her own plate delicately on top of the pile. I sighed heavily, hanging my head as I muttered curses to myself.

"Are you gonna help or just stand there?" Shikamaru drawled, his hands occupied with a portion of the plate stack. Sending him a warning glower, I picked up the last of the plates, Shino and Sasuke already having their own stack. I followed the three of them in a huff, all of us holding our tongues as we came to a nearby stream. Clear water lapped up at the muddy banks of the stream as I plopped the plates down on the ground before kneeling in front of the water. My knees squished in the damp mud as I pulled up the first plate to be cleaned. Using an old rag, I wiped up the excess food from the plates and dipped it into the stream waters, tossing it off to the side with a crash.

"What's your problem, Tanaka?" Sasuke snapped, tossing his own clean plate of to the side. The mud shifted under my knees as I twisted the slightest bit, the cool dirt soothing against my skin.

"What's it matter to you, Uchiha?" I snapped, another plate joining the clean pile. The plates sitting on the forest floor only made them dirty again but I was in no mood to try and deal with that as well. I glared darkly at the Uchiha, his pitch ebony eyes narrowing in a salty glower. Another plate, not mine but another person's, crashed into a pile.

"Would you two at least hate silently," Shikamaru complained, "You're giving me a headache." My glower now focused on the lazy nin as he scrubbed a food-caked dish.

"Poor Shika," I mocked, sending another plate to the "clean" pile. Sasuke tossed his own plate, which crashed even more piercingly.

"Whatever. Just shut the fuck up if you're going to be in such a shitty mood."

"Then stop ticking me off and putting me in a shitty mood." My snarl contorted my facial features into a fierce growl as my anger bubbled under my skin, making my skin itch and squirm.

"Really? I'm the one who puts you in bad moods," He raised, "Your such a loser, you know that Tanaka."

"Thanks for the damn memo!" I was almost at the point of shouting; my anger had gotten the better of me, as always. The tension in the area was a thickened fog, Shikamaru and Shino being completely quiet. But I only greedily fed off the irate charge in the area, the heated rage in my chest increasing in pressure. Again, that stinging charge boldly caused my actions as I punched at the Uchiha's shoulder. My fist made contact and Sasuke was sent tumbling into the stream.

Then, Sasuke's hand grabbed my wrist and I was flung into the stream after him, the slippery mud helping in no way for me to gain traction against Sasuke's tug. The icy water enclosed around me in a tight and breath-taking hug when my head was completely enclosed. Finally placing my feet into the silted riverbed, I stood and returned to my previous occupancy and continued cleaning plates; Shikamaru and Shino had complete stopped their work and were staring at us. My teeth chattered involuntarily as the true icyness of the water was revealed through a sharp gust of wind.

"N-nnot one w-word," I hissed, only two more plates remaining in my pile of uncleaned ones. Determined to stop my chattering, I tightened my jaw as the raven haired and soaked Sasuke passed me to his previous place.

"Loser," he muttered. I refused to release my jaw, even to hurl back some venomous remark, instead choosing to force more pressure into my scrubbing. Sasuke refused to even acknowledge me when he spoke in my direction. "Don't you ever do that again or you will regret it." I applied more and more pressure, even though the plate had already passed my "clean" standards. "Did you hear me?" I guessed he took my hush as a sign that I wasn't affected by his meaningless threat. The plate couldn't take any more and it finally snapped; the same occurred to me.

"WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP!" I screeched, throwing broken bits of ivory glass into the stream and my fist balling tight enough to constrict blood from my knuckles, "JUST LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE." My breath came out in heavy puffs as Shino and Shikamaru just stared at me, Shikamaru seemed to be sweating under the awkward silence that followed my rant. Sasuke and I glared at each other, his ebony eyes burning with anger and what seemed to me as shock. Then his eyes flicked away to the glass still in my hand. His mouth opened as if he were going to say something and I pounced as he was suddenly thrown back into the mud as I pinned him face up in the mud with my rather large shard of porcelain against his throat. Shino and Shikamaru watched the scene before them in shock as my face became as dark and fierce as my muscles would allow.

"Now you listen to me," I hissed in his face, pressing the shard against his skin, "You don't blame this all on me and if you ever cross me again, I will kick your ass." Sasuke's stare was completely blank before I found myself pressed into the mud myself. Sasuke was hushed as he stared at me for a moment, before hissing at me.

"Fine. And by the way, you're bleeding." I glanced down at my hand, a gaping and profusely bleeding incision breaking up the skin over my hand.

Sitting up, and in the process throwing off the Uchiha, I healed my wound leaving only a thin cut and scar tissue under Sasuke's gaze. His gaze was questioning as the green chakra quickly died from my fingertips. As I stood to leave, Uchiha grasped my hand to examine the cut. I quickly ripped it from his grasp, snarling. "Don't touch me."

Returning to my plates, I wrapped a bit of medical tape about the wound and picked up my pile of plates before stalking off with Shino's, Shikamaru's, and Sasuke's gazes following me. I only heard one more thing before the mute twilight forest surrounded me.

"So, so troublesome…"

**Naruto Characters © Misashi Kishimoto**

**My OCs and this story/plot ©Me/ Midnight Writer** 13


	8. Nonstop

Dropping the dishes with a clang, I stalked over to the grouping of lighted tents with the confused gazes of the sensei following me closely. As I came closer, most of the genin were sitting outside their tents, putting off retiring for the night as long as possible.

"Which tent's mine?" I mumbled, glancing at each of the shinobi postponing sleep; each one of them were staring at me, none of them bringing up the nerve to ask what had happened even though it was obvious that they wanted to by their facial expressions.

"What the hell happened to you?" Hiro asked, raising a questioning eyebrow. Staring angrily at the ground, I trudged over to Hiro, balling my fists up in the front of his shirt. His eyes widened as he had asked, not realizing how much he really should have just kept his damn mouth shut. Lifting him to my eye level, I glared at him and tried to keep my voice under control.

"I said, which tent is mine; don't make me repeat myself again," I hissed. Hiro only glared back, but there was a glimmer of fear in his eyes as he glowered, resilience blending in his other emotions.

"Over here Kyoko!" Mai called, gesturing me over to a tent at the far end. Dropping Hiro, I ducked into the tent, the smell of old pine and dirt filling my head. Mai glanced over at my dirt-coated figure and pulled a few stray leaves from my hair before handing me my travelling bag.

"Thank you," I sighed, searching through my bag for the weapons holster I had left behind. Many different textures passed my palm as I searched deeper inside my bag, still having no luck with finding the holster.

"No problem," Mai grinned, returning to reclining on her sleeping bag and contorting something in her hand, "I grabbed this tent while you were out cleaning the plates. How did that go by the way? Looks like it went down the shitter pretty quickly…" she murmured, pointing to her own hair where yet another leaf refused to stop ruffling in front of my face.

"Damn Uchiha…I fell in the river and broke a plate," I mumbled, showing her my marred palm. She took it gingerly setting down the molded material, only to drop my hand quickly.

"Ouch," she exclaimed, rubbing her bare palm. Shaking my head, I sighed again as Mai returned to molding the substance in her hand. Finally finding my holster, I withdrew my roll of pale wool gauze and bound the still leaking would, staining the white crimson.

"Yeah, sorry about that," I apologized, balling up my hands into fists causing blood to rush out in a short spurt onto the gauze.

"I would be pissed too," Mai sympathized, "That river's cold." Falling back onto my soft sleeping bag, I brought my hands over my eyes, the gauze rubbing against my skin coarsely. Allowing my hands to fall back from my head, I glanced over at my friend.

"What are you doing?" I asked Mai, who was intently focusing on whatever was in her palm.

"New jutsu," she stated, moving her fingers more delicately. Glancing closer, I watched for a minute as she contorted the white material, focusing on something about the shape of the matter. She finally placed the folded paper on the floor of the tent, moving her fingertips carefully as if directing the crawling item.

"What the hell is it?" I wondered, leaning in closer to examine the thing more thoroughly. Tiny creases in the paper created moving joints while short expanses of paper created a small body; Mai's novice to this jutsu was hardly obvious.

Mai smirked as the animal scuttled about the tent floor, searching with miniscule alabaster claws that scratched lightly on the canvas floor. The folded animal finally found the door and slipped in between the flaps to reach the airy outdoors.

"It's supposed to be a mouse," she huffed, pressing one hand to the ground, the other into a number of hand seals. The scuttles of the tiny creature in between the sun dried leaves could still be heard faintly just outside the tent.

"And it does what?" I asked, falling back onto my sleeping bag with a plush whoosh. Mai created one last hand seal, her hands frozen for a moment. An enormous crash echoed out in the clearing outside the tent, along with the screams of many shinobi and kunoichi. As I propped myself on my elbows, warm air carrying shreds of paper rushed into the tent brushing my blonde hair out of my face from the force of the explosion.

"It blows shit up," she smirked, dropping her hand seal, "They seriously would not shut up about not wanting to go to sleep. Now they'll definitely be awake for a while." Laughter bubbled out of my mouth as I clutched my sides, glancing back at a giggling Mai.

"Who taught you how to explode shit like that?" I exclaimed.

"Itaru taught me," She giggled, molding more crumbled paper in her hands as I picked up my towel and soap, preparing to go wash.

"I'll be back in a bit; I'm gonna go wash off. You need anything?"

"Nope but thanks anyways," Mai replied, resting the paper on the floor and gazing at the nondescript roof of the tent.

Without another word, I ducked out of the tent and back into the area where all of the shinobi were still encouraging insomnia now because there was a large crater in the center of them. All of their appearances were utterly disheveled and askew, some of them having bits of the paper mouse in their hair or on their clothes. I swept past them quickly, laughing lightly under my breath as I went. A few low strings of curses emitted from a select few of them as I left, their confusion not be cleared at all from my laughter.

Two jounin sat about the fire pit still, two excluding Rika and Kakashi, talking and chattering with each other. I slipped past them silently, hoping not to alert them of my disappearance. My efforts were thwarted with a rush of silver that swept in front of my vision as I was swiftly stopped by a tight grip on my shoulder.

"Kyoko? Where are you going?" Rika questioned, grasping my shoulder with a bit more force. Twisting around, I glanced up at her.

"Shower," I muttered, ripping away from her grip. Rika only pulled me back as she gave me a bright grin.

"You need to come with me to training," she beamed, dragging me in the direction of the training session.

"But I hate this damn training. And anyways, we've been walking all day. So just let me go take a shower and go to bed," I mumbled, trying to pull free of Rika's iron like grip. Rika only dragged me with more strength, my feet leaving lengthy, shallow trails in the dirt.

"Now come on Kyoko. Sasuke agreed to train tonight!"

"Well, _Sasuke _will do anything to get his ass kicked or piss me off," I hissed, "With this training, he gets both." Rika only continued on, ignoring my complaints as she dragged me off.

"So all that matters is what Uchiha agrees to? What about what I agree to?" I protested, seeing brute force would help me in no such way.

"You don't agree to anything we ask you to do!" Rika told me, grinning as she finally stopped, plopping me down on the ground with my towel and soap still clutched to my chest. Muttering curses under my breath, I stood, Uchiha only a few feet before me with Kakashi to his right reading from a small orange book. With his arms crossed over his navy clad chest, Sasuke stared at me quizzically, raising an eyebrow at my cleaning supplies.

"What, never seen someone forcibly dragged to training before?" I snarled, tossing my items to the side where they clunked at the roots of a tree. "So what are we doing?" All three shinobi gazed at me, two of the gazes a dark brown, the other a coal black.

"You will be climbing trees," Kakashi stated, pushing his orange book into a pocket. Both Sasuke and I sent him bewildered glances and odd glowers. His one eye glanced over us casually before he continued to explain, "You have to climb the tree without using your hands."

"How are we supposed to do that? From what I know, gravity applies to everyone," Sasuke questioned, his voice straight and monotone even with the added sarcasm. Kakashi raised an eyebrow, approaching the tree closest to him.

I watched Kakashi intently as he resided his hands in his pockets, placing his first foot on the taupe bark. My vision followed Kakashi as he placed his next foot down on the bark, taking solid and pinpoint steps vertically up the tree as if he were walking down a flat and gravity regulation street. It was odd, watching Kakashi stride up the tree until he reached the lowest branch and easily stride along the underside of the wooden arm.

"Now it's your turn, both of you," he stated, lifting his head to look at us. My mouth opened to speak but Kakashi cut me off, "No complaining either. Just do it." Sending him a quick glare, I turned to the closest tree. Rika cleared her throat before we had a chance to begin.

"All you have to do is spread your chakra to the soles of your feet. But it has to be balanced; mark your progress by scratching a kunai across your highest point of each try. Since neither of you have done this before, I would get a running start," Rika suggested.

I glanced up at Kakashi again; my eyes searching for something in the way he stood on the tree. Confusion yet also recognition swept in a wave over me as I remained gazing at the upside down shinobi. He reminded me of someone, but I just couldn't place my finger on whom. The answer was there, somewhere, in my mind; I could feel it swirling just out of my reach.

***CLICK***

It was a click, dull and with no reverberation; none of the people around me seemed to have heard it. But it also didn't seem as if it was coming from anything. I could almost feel my eyes glaze over as my vision of Kakashi flickered like a dead light bulb. When I blinked, a young kunoichi with an odd symboled hitai-ate stood, gazing at me from the lower side of a tree branch.

"Kyoko?" she called, her voice smooth as her one indigo eye flooded with worry. I shook my head vigorously, the image disappearing for a fleeting moment and then flickering back to life. Her bronze hair swished about her face as the kunoichi dropped to the earth lightly and approached me, placing a calloused hand to my forehead. As if caused by her cool touch, my whole vision changed and our temporary training grounds disappeared.

_"Kyoko? Are you alright?" she asked worriedly, flicking her hair out of her face with a twitch of her head; a clean white bandage hid one of her eyes from my view. I swore I knew this woman, yet how or why, I didn't know. _

_ "Yeah, I'm fine but I don't think I can do that," I said, my voice much higher and more childish. I seemed to say it yet it was as if I didn't have a choice if I said it or not. I glanced back up at the tree which seemed much taller than it should have. Anxiety shivered down my spine as I noticed how truly high the lowest branch was._

_ "You can do it! Just balance the chakra in your feet, Kyoko-chan!" Reina encouraged, gesturing towards the tree. Anxiety flooded my limbs, making them feel as if they were created of lead. My thoughts swirled with unnecessary worries: worried of failure and worries of injury. My chest felt tight and breathing seemed less easy to me now, as if it was something new to me. But taking a deep breath, I darted at the rough tree, only making it up a few feet before crashing back to the ground. My head crashed with green grass as my vision went from tree bark to blue sky._

_ "Ow…" I mumbled as I stared up at the clear sky, Reina glancing down at me anxiously. Sunlight encircled Reina as her shadow cast down over my face._

_ "Kyoko?" she called, as her and the world about me flickered like a dying candle. When she called again her voice had changed dramatically._

"Kyoko?" Rika called, shaking me so that my eyes fluttered open. The sky darkening directly in front of me, I saw that all three of the shinobi who had been training with me were leaning over me. My eyes narrowed at all of them.

"Back off," I muttered, pushing myself into a sitting position and grasping my head as it pulsed with pain. "What happened?"

"You fainted," Sasuke huffed, pressing his hands into his pockets with disdain. A pained glower was direct towards the Uchiha as my eye twitched in reaction to the thudding in my head.

"I didn't ask you," I hissed back at him.

"What did you see?" Rika asked curiously, glancing at me with wide eyes. Shaking my head, I forced myself to my feet and sighed loudly, a kunai encircling my finger. How did she know that I saw anything?

"I've done this before," I stated, ignoring her questions and quizzical gazes. Taking my withdrawal of my weapon as a signal of our starting, Sasuke pulled out his own kunai and aimed himself towards the adjacent tree. The pain was still there, a dull pulse of ache continually probing my skull. I was pulled out of my trance by a mocking laugh.

"I can't wait to watch you fail at this," Uchiha murmured, a smirk only those of the Uchiha heritage seemed to be able to pull off breaking across his pallor.

"Ha, that's a good one, Uchiha. But you really shouldn't lie knowing that I'm gonna kick your ass at this like I do at everything else," I mocked, crouching down as close to the brush as I was able to in preparation. Sasuke shook his head and allowed another chuckle to escape his lips haughtily.

"Now who's the liar, Tanaka," Sasuke chuckled, darting at the tree. I followed suit, pushing chakra to my feet as I came nearer to the wood trunk.

I managed to rise a few meters off the ground, only to fall back as my chakra snapped away from my soles like a tight rubber band. Pressing off the tree, I swept my blade through the thick bark, revealing the light colored wood beneath. I landed lightly at the base of the tree, sparingly glancing at Uchiha's tree. He too was crouched at the base of his tree, an incision in the bark just inches above my own mark. Heated irritation rose in my body as I pushed off the ground, pressing more chakra into my feet. I noted that I passed my previous mark and then the bark caved in under my chakra induced step. Gravity retook over as I hung back, my shoe still sunk within the tree trunk. Biting my tongue, I pulled my upper body up to the height of my shoe and slashed the bark. As an irritated sigh left my mouth, I wedged the thin blade under my shoe and pried my foot from the stubborn trunk and, growling lowly to myself, I finally fell back to the tree roots.

"Dammit!" I cursed, seeing that Uchiha was right on my tail. A string of curses came from the raven haired shinobi himself as he viewed how even we still were. Our eyes connected as we glowered at each other, charges of rage and heated competition passing between us.

I pushed myself back up the tree again and again, each time the balance of chakra coming closer and closer just before my grasp over my chakra slipped up and the energy slid through my fingers like water. Slowly but surely, I remembered tricks but getting up a tree without hands was still difficult to work.

Each time I forced myself up, the lowest branch came nearer and nearer to my reach; the last time, my fingertips brushing the rough bark as I shot up to wrap my hand about the girth of the wooden arm. Plummeting back to the earth, I landed first on my feet before rolling onto my back panting. The harsh breathing of Sasuke reached my ears as he landed, crouching to keep himself up. Both of us compared our marks, swearing under our breath.

"Fuck; we're dead even," He muttered, bowing his head from lack of energy. His dark hair hung over his sweat slicked face as I forced myself up, grunting in effort. My chakra was waning and its harsh effects were starting to overtake my competitive drive. Now, I was still dirty from splash in the river and I was sweating and tired. But I would rather have my eyes gouged than allow that bastard Uchiha to get the better of me. That included if we tied. I had to prove that Uchihas weren't always the best.

"Not for long," I muttered, charging up the tree. Sasuke followed behind me and as I reached past the branch and sliced the tree one last time. Pulling down my eyelid with my pointer finger, I stuck my tongue out at the raven hair shinobi, mocking him as I dropped. His scowl darkened as he changed directions, instead aiming to ram into me. We both plummeted to the earth, him landing on top of me. Shoving him off, I pushed myself up and smashed my feet into his chest, forcing him back down to the dirt. Sasuke grasped my ankle tightly, twisting it off his chest and pulling me back to the ground. As we both jumped up, I retracted my fist back to punch the Uchiha. But my punch wouldn't accelerate forward. As I glanced back, Rika pulled me into a tight hug constricting my body as she walked away from her sibling who was holding back Sasuke. I twisted my head around to continue snarling at Uchiha; he glared just as darkly, his deep and malicious glare burning into me before the two disappeared from my sight.

The forest around us seemed like a huge circle of the same vision, over and over again; all of the trees seemed identical, the sky never changing from through the thicket of leaves. It was calming, walking through the silent forest, the scents of dripping tree sap and dried leaves filling my head as Rika lead me about. The adrenalin that had been rushing through my veins was depleting but there were still lingering emotions; raw anger and an itching need to punch something. The memory kept running through my head like a broken tape, just repeating and repeating, mocking my confusion.

"You are a handful, that's for sure!" Rika giggled, finally stopping before a river's edge, "But it's definitely interesting!" Rika's voice bounced off the trees of the forest about the clearing, "Now, would you talk to me about the memory you unlocked?" Rika's dark gaze was worried and concern flooded her pupils, an apprehensive frown creasing her face.

I held my tongue: this was something I would deal with on my own as I always had. The rustling of bushes announced her withdrawal from the riverside. Sighing, I jumped in the river fully, clothes and all. The cool water flowed past me, its massaging torrents easing my burden as I closed my eyes, focusing only on the memories.

**Naruto Characters ©Misashi Kishimoto**

**This story/plot and my OCs ©Me/ Midnight Write**


	9. The Games We Play

"Damn…" I mumbled incoherently as a small amount of bright sunlight managed to crawl into the tent and through my barely ajar eyelids, causing me to groan and attempt to burrow deeper into my sleeping bag. The fluffed lining of my sleeping bag tickled my face as I nuzzled back into a dreamlike state. Said state was broken quickly when the doors of the tent were thrown open and a cheery voice greeted us excitedly.

"Kyoko! Mai! Time to get up!" Rika's voice sang, shaking my shoulder through my sleeping bag. I grumbled drowsily, contorting my body away from the hand. I could hear Mai groan as well as Rika switched to trying to wake her.

"Go away…" Mai mumbled sleepily.

"Come on! We've got much to do today and you two are the last ones still asleep!" Rika announced as I began to allow sleep to take hold of me. But sunlight—damned sunlight—crept more strongly about the tent, filtering through both the fabric of my sleeping bag and my closed eyelids. "Don't make me get the water!" Rika threatened. Snorting with disbelief, I closed y eyes tighter and my breathing evened as sleep took a strong hold of me again.

All of a sudden, extra weight pushed down and chilled water infiltrated my sleeping bag. Sighing in disgust, I threw back my sodden sleeping bag and blinked sleep away from my eyes as they adjusted to the excess light. Shivers crawled across my skin as a light breeze blew into the tent, the wind carrying a numbing chill as it went. Picking soaked hair from my face, Mai's chatters broke the silence as I glanced over at her; dark hair clung to her face and her arms were crossed in an attempt to retain heat.

"Want a blanket?" I asked, tossing her the soft fleece fabric that was kept dry in my bag. Apparently Mai's sleeping bag was more porous than mine. She gratefully wrapped the blanket about herself as she nodded.

My jaw clenched as I held back chatters, my sleeping clothes heavier with the water they had soaked up.

"What do you think Rika's got planned?" Mai asked, yawning drowsily as she groped for her bag, her eyes closed and not yet adjusted to the morning light.

"I really don't want to know," I mumbled as I unsteadily rose. Grasping a jacket from her bag and wrapping it about her shoulders, Mai dropped the blanket back in my bag.

I exited the tent behind Mai and as we approached the makeshift fire pit; a decision I thoroughly regretted. Most of the shinobi were chatting about the camp fire; Hiro shook wet hair away from his face as he sent a smirk in our direction. Sensing that there was something hidden in that smirk, Mai and I immediately spun around, only to be caught by Rika.

"Where do you two think you are going?" Rika inquired, grasping the scruff of my sleep shirt tightly.

"The better question is where the hell do you think you all are going? Cause, I'm not going where ever you all are," I stated, attempting to pull away from Rika. She only held on tighter as I struggled in vain, twisting and turning until the neck on my shirt was stretched and almost choking me.

"That's unfortunate; and you have no choice. You're coming," Rika stated, tossing us back towards our tent. I glanced back at the shinobi about the fire pit; all of them were in swim suits and they all carried towels against their sides. Shaking my head, I turned back to face Rika and crossed my arms over my chest. Mai pulled her jacket closer about herself as she sent Rika a glare, her mouth set in a firm line.

"We don't have suits," Mai huffed. I nodded in agreement, the coincidence being prefect for this situation. To my dismay, Rika's grin only widened.

"No problem!" she beamed, "I brought suits for you!" My jaw dropped as Rika disappeared for only a second before returning with two bags; one gestured towards Mai and the other shoved under my nose. I inwardly groaned as I sent a glare at Rika.

"Why do you have suits that are specifically for us? And how did you know our sizes?" I questioned, pushing the bag away from my face. Again, Rika only grinned.

"Teacher's intuition," she simply replied.

"We just don't swim," Mai stated as Rika held out the bags insistently. I nodded my head in agreement before glaring disdainfully at the bag, attempting to burn a hole in it. It didn't work.

"Just put these on."

Rolling my eyes, I snatched the bag fiercely from Rika's grip and ripped through the doors of the tent, growling the entire way.

I waited patiently for Mai outside the tent, a baggy shirt and pair of shorts covering the atrocious suit Rika had given me.

Plucking up the collar of the shirt to glance at the cherry suit again, I shuddered at what I saw and dropped the collar to re-grasp my towel. Mai finally exited the tent, a disgusted expression cracking her face.

"Did she give you a bikini too?" I asked, seeing her expression and attire; Mai wore a top that was sizes too big so it appeared more like a dress than a shirt.

"Yeah, she did," Mai grimaced, "So she wasn't just picking on me?" I shook my head and reluctantly turned towards the fire pit, a large knot of some emotion pitted in my stomach. Mai followed just as slowly, the other shinobi conversing as they waited for us: the only two not yet ready to go.

It was only about ten minutes before the spray of freshwater began to hit my face and the scent of open air filled my head. I shuddered involuntarily as chilly morning spray spread about the air around me, the moisture causing the knot in my gut to tighten and tangle more aggressively.

The sight of a lake soon came into view: a dock made of wood panels stretching out through the crystal water that lapped against a pale sanded shore. As the trees began to thin out around us, the dirt slowly turned into sand which jumped into my sandals and ground under my feet.

"Alright everyone! It's your day off so please enjoy it!" One of the jounin announced, her crimson eyes sparkling with excitement. Rolling my eyes, I stayed close to Mai as we strolled out along the wood pier, the boards creaking softly under each of our foot falls.

"You gonna be ok?" Mai whispered as she noticed something I was having difficulty identifying.

"Yeah," I breathed, watching the water intently as it slid back and forth, pulling and tugging at the world about it carelessly. It was hypnotic; my eyes never left the crystal liquid as we made our way down the pier.

The wood was warm under my now bare feet as I laid out my towel and plopped down, shielding my eyes from the harsh midmorning sun. I finally just closed my eyes; the rays of sun glinting wildly off the waves of clear lake water. I growled loudly as drops of water splashed up onto the dry deck from our companions leaping into the lake.

"Come on you guys! Get in the water!" Naruto shouted as my eyes fluttered open. The blonde ninja's hair seemed even brighter in the sunlight as he glanced over the edge of the deck at us, his hair and face soaked and dripping with water.

"Go away," I replied. Pouting his lips, Naruto furrowed his eyebrows and dropped back down into the waist high water with a splash.

"Stupid Kyoko…stupid Mai…they think they're so cool…" he murmured under his breath as he waded out deeper until the water reached his shoulders and he began treading water. My glare followed him as he went, my vision boring into the back of his head. Mai shook her head as she glanced back at the book she was reading from her lap.

I watched with only slight interest as my companions splashed through the azure waves and on the sandy beach. My eyes followed as they molded the sand into shapes and castles and as they swam about the clear lake.

The steady beat of the waves bumping against the pier lulled me into a semi conscious state; the damp wind rushed through my hair, sending both scarlet and deep golden locks into my eyes. I sighed as I tucked the strands behind my ear in vain to only have them fall into my half lidded vision again. The beating continued uninterrupted for a while, the only disturbance being that from the shinobi in the lake.

Suddenly, a bright blue sphere flew across my vision; I ignored it only to see it again and again, followed by loud splashes, giggles, and even squeals. My skin seemed to be baking in the afternoon sun, the heat much higher since the morning. Scooting up so that my feet trailed into the warmed lake waves, I glanced up to see a bright sapphire sphere almost collide with my head.

Snapping my hand up, the bouncy ball smacked against my palm as my fingers curled about it to keep it in place.

"Kyoko! Over here!" a shrill voice screamed. Finding the origin of the voice, I glanced at the ball in my hand and then back at Sakura.

I tossed it lightly while I remained confused; Sakura gave me no answers and ran off with the item, squealing most of the way. I rolled my eyes at her and then turned back to Mai.

"So how's the book?" I wondered, kicking a few drops off the surface of the lake. Mai closed it and sighed, throwing it away from her.

"I'd much rather be training right now," she sighed. A wry grin crossed her face as she shielded her eyes from the sunlight; I sighed deeply, splashing my foot in the water again.

"It's a difficult choice but sitting here, being bored as hell is a whole lot better than training with Uchiha; that's a living hell," I told her. Mai chuckled lightly, falling back so that her arms hung over the other side of the pier.

"From what you've told me, sounds like it would suck," Mai chuckled, splashing the water with her fingers. A small grin broke across my face as I stared up at the clouds, sand washing out into the water as I cautiously pushed my foot deeper into the water.

All of a sudden, something grasped my foot from under the surface of the water. My attention immediately shot downward as my eyes widened in shock. Inhaling sharply, my screech pierced the air as whatever was holding my appendage gave a sharp tug, dragging me, not really kicking but definitely screaming, into the water.

"Kyoko! What the—," was all I heard before Mai's voice was gargled away with my head submerging into the water. The icy liquid suddenly clogged my ears and surrounded me quickly as I opened my eyes in a try to find the dock again. My hand finally struck the bottom board of the pier and I tugged myself to the surface, gasping greedily for oxygen. As I surfaced, Sasuke surfaced next to me, an amused smirk playing at his lips. As quickly as the air had entered my lungs it exited, more precisely in a few choice words.

"What the fuck!" I cursed. I could hear Mai on the deck, threatening Hiro as he came closer to her, threatening to push her in as well.

Grasping the rough boards of the pier, I began to pull out of the water, involuntary shivers trailing across my skin.

"Where are you going?" Sasuke asked, a few laughs mixing into his question, "Get back in here." I only glared at him as he approached me, my eyes sending a clear message of my current emotions.

"Fuck no," I cursed. As I finally pulled up onto the top of the pier, Uchiha grasped my free leg which I swiftly snatched away, glaring again. "What is confusing to you about the word "no", Uchiha? I don't want to get in the water."

"I TOLD YOU! NOW YOU OWE ME HIRO!" Naruto screeched across the lake, "I TOLD YOU SHE WOULD SCREAM!" Now I turned my irate glower to Naruto, who instantly cowered under my gaze.

"What was that, Naruto?" I hissed, glaring at the nin. I saw Hiro had won the battle as Mai leaped back onto the pier, soaked to the bone. Shaking my head, I peeled my shirt off and then dropped both that and my shorts next to my towel allowing the atrocious cherry colored suit to be viewed; I didn't even want the thing to exist. I quickly spun back to Naruto who was still rambling on about something with Hiro.

"…didn't you hear her? Her screams were like an octave higher than human hearing meaning I won the bet. It was hilarious!" Naruto laughed, throwing his head back with glee he would soon regret.

"Naruto!" I yelled as he pulled himself onto the deck of the pier. Instantly, Naruto's head snapped about as he sweat dropped, his pallor paling as I approached the blonde.

"Uhh…" Naruto stuttered before darting away, his blonde head swiftly disappearing about the edge of the lake. What a smart boy.

Straightening up, I rubbed my forehead when I was suddenly smacked in the back of the head. Holding the site of the pain, I spun around and snatched up the sapphire ball, gripping the sphere angrily. Kiba and Hiro were chuckling from the water as I glowered at them. Then the ball was snatched from my grip. I spun about to see Uchiha, smirking at me with the sphere in hand.

"Give it back!" I cried, jumping up to try and take the ball back; Sasuke only held it further out of my reach.

"Then join us," he stated, smirking as he waited for my answer.

"I'm not getting in the water."

"All you need to do is join in," he repeated as I glowered up at him. He didn't seem all that affected by the stare which only caused more annoyance to pool with the rest of my irritation. A minute passed before the battle I was fighting with myself resolved itself.

"Fine," I growled. As soon as the answer left my lips, Uchiha ran off down the pier towards the sandy beach, the other males calling out for him to toss the ball. As I caught up, I sprang at Sasuke, both of us landing on the grainy sand with a thud just as he tossed the ball. I twisted my head to glance over my shoulder at the scene as Kiba tossed the ball to Hiro who was backing away swiftly from Mai's advances. Standing from atop Uchiha, I took a few steps onto the dock, slowly approaching the others.

The ball then went from Kiba, soaring above my head. Uchiha caught the sapphire ball just behind me only to retract his arm. I darted after him but just as he snapped out the throw, his footing slipped and the toss flew askew and out over the water. I watched with amusement as both Mai and Hiro jumped for it, colliding and landing with a loud splash in the lake.

Mai was the first to resurface, the sapphire ball in hand as she grinned in triumph. Gesturing towards me, I began towards the pier to make it easier for Mai, seeing as Hiro was now chasing after her.

The bottom of my feet tapped lightly against the wood panels as I dashed towards the center of the lake, the water covering the pier making the wood slick. The pads of my foot didn't hold in any way and as I slammed into a firm chest, the azure thing flew over my head again and my balance failing me. Again.

I suddenly inhaled sharply as I fell under the lake's crystal surface as the person I had collided with pushed me in.

The water swallowed me completely and my head swirled about as oxygen quickly became a need. Opening my eyes, Uchiha's deep charcoal eyes met mine as he stared at me, the sapphire ball clutched in his hand. Noting my surrounding, Sasuke was uncomfortably close and I was gripping his shoulder tightly as I became lightheaded.

Scrambling uncoordinatedly upward, I finally reached the surface of the water, breaking it in a desperate search for air. Breathing in heavily, I glared at the Uchiha before climbing back out onto the pier. The object of our intense attention was now in Sakura's possession, her green eyes scanning the lake for a recipient of her throw.

I glanced around, only now noticing that Ino had exited the water to instead sunbathe and Hinata had now found a seat on the edge of the pier; Hiro was the only boy who remained outside the water in our game.

Mai's hand shot out as she grasped the ball, catching my attention with a quick glance. She tossed it quickly, just in time to have the pitch remain straight. Hiro bowled into her as the item soared through the air, both of them crashing to the lake's surface. Again.

The boys now had possession as Naruto popped up from under the water and swiftly swiped the sphere from Sakura's grip, tossing it to his teammate. The ball remained in the boys' possession for a long while; Sakura, Mai, and I were outnumbered by Kiba, Hiro, Naruto, and Sasuke.

Closing my eyes, I leaned my hands on my knees and tried to slow my haggard breathing.

It was odd; that stupid little ball had become the object of all of our attentions in a matter of minutes and it had lasted for hours now. The sun was now low in the sky and giving out its last strong rays of golden light.

I returned from my own thoughts abruptly as I heard Mai and Sakura screaming my name just before all the air rushed from my lungs in a painful groan. Sasuke scrambled from over me as he attempted to reach for the indigo ball just feet in over my head. Placing a strong hand against his chest, I roughly pushed him away with a sturdy shove. A groan left his lips as he stopped rolling with a thud, a small smile breaking across his face.

That's what made me stop.

I had the object we had been obsessing over for hours now in my very grasp and I was struck by a stupid smile. But it was _a smile_. From the Uchiha: a smile? I shook my head. Then, realization hit me over the head. _I was having fun_.

I hadn't had this kind of fun in years. It seemed like many of us hadn't had fun like this in years.

Surprisingly, a coy shove was pressed against my shoulder, causing me to stumble forward. Uchiha passed me, sending me the famous smirk as he approached the others. I sent him a soft glower as Mai's voice pierced the air.

"KYOKO!" she cried, a bright grin possessing her face, as she threw the ball, the item soaring towards me. Then it happened; for a single second, a smile broke out across my face.

"A-arren't youu ffreezing?" Sakura mumbled, her teeth chattering together from the wind chilled water. Opening one eye, I raised an eyebrow quizzically and gazed up at the pinkette from where I had collapsed at the end of the pier.

"Not really," I replied, allowing my eye to flutter shut again. Mai only shrugged as the sun finally fell below the horizon; the crystal lake now turned dark and opaque, the true depths unclear and now unseen. The pinkette lingered with us for a moment before more gusts of wind that tore at the lake water also blew past her, causing Sakura to shiver again as she wrapped her arms about herself. Her steps leisurely quieted as she strode further away from where Mai and I were lying. She was only about a quarter of the way down the pier before her voice broke the tranquility of the lake.

"Hi Sasuke-kun! Where are you going?" Sakura's voiced echoed loudly over the quieted lake, her steps halting as she spoke.

"I'll be right back," he stated blandly. Another set of footsteps beyond approached us beyond Sasuke, the vibrations of each step travelling down the wooden panels to my ears. Stretching, I started down the pier with Mai, our abandoned belonging back where we had left them earlier. Only a few steps down the pier, I collided with the Uchiha himself.

"Move," I deadpanned, glowering up at Sasuke darkly. Mai scowled up at Hiro; the two males stood shoulder to shoulder, taking up the entire width of the pier.

A smirk, the smirk I had seen many, many times, managed to spread across Sasuke's features as he stared at me, a spark of amusement sparkling in his eyes.

"Are you deaf?" Mai spat at the brunette shinobi. He only smirked at her as she only glared with even more ferocity. Again, neither of the two morons answered; annoyance knotted in my chest as I sighed heavily and attempted to forcibly shift the barrier in my way. Placing a hand on Sasuke's chest, I shoved him back harshly with no effect. His smirk only widened as he wrapped a hand about my wrist and drew my hand away from himself.

Sasuke took his entertained gaze off me for a moment to meet Hiro's gaze in a fleeting amount of eye contact. It was too late now but it dawned on me that there was some ulterior motive concealed in their smirks and they had just set off the signal. Shit.

With a swift placement of his hand and a concise shove, I rolled out into the dark lake unwillingly and all the air I had inhaled only seconds before instantly left my lungs.

MAI'S POV

Something was weird. I couldn't really say what but when Hiro's dark gaze left mine, I knew something was up. Only seconds later, the chilled lake pulled me under due to a rough shove from Hiro. Trashing at the icy water, my head broke the surface swiftly; I paddled towards the pier, my only thought being how painfully I could kill Hiro.

Then I noticed the missing person on the pier.

I gasped in fear as I frantically swam towards the wooden planks that the lake waves bobbed about, my eyes widening as silence still thudded in my ears.

"YOU IDIOTS!" I screeched, finally pulling myself up onto the pier. Lying on my stomach, I wearily dragged myself across the width of the pier with both of the males' eyes curiously watching me. I scanned the water anxiously, my eyes searching for Kyoko in the dark abyss.

"What's wrong?" Hiro asked quizzically as I continued to search to no avail. Snarling, I forced myself to my feet despite my fatigue and my fury boiled over with the boost of my fear.

"KYOKO CAN'T SWIM!" I screamed, crouching despite my muscles screams of protest and springing into the icy water again. Both Hiro's and Sasuke's eyes widened as I plunged under the water, another body joining my frenzied search.

KYOKO'S POV

My chest was painfully tight as if a balloon had been placed behind my ribcage and my lungs were screaming for air as I oddly attempted to find the water's surface. All of my attacks against the water seemed ineffective and only deterring seeing as I only seemed to sink deeper. The foul taste of lake water filled my mouth and bitterly travelled down my throat to settle with the fear that was building in my stomach.

Dizziness cascaded upon my mind, my vision becoming even more blurred as my head spun like a top. I had very little of an idea how to pull myself to the oxygen I was dying for and my mind didn't seem to be getting any clearer as I attempted to swim. All I could do was continue to thrash through the water.

Through the fog of my oxygen hungry search, someone grasped my arm and began pulling my skyward. Another grip wrapped its way about my middle, helping the first to bring me toward the air.

As my head finally broke the surface of the lake, I gasped hungrily for oxygen, scattered coughs and wheezes escaping my mouth as fatigue set into my muscles. With my hair clinging to my neck and face, the two people aiding me pushed me up onto the pier's deck. My breathing still haggard and broken up, I rested my cheek on the warm wood and rested my eyes as I inhaled as much oxygen as possible.

Hiro was crouching next to me, his hand was placed on my shoulder as Mai and Sasuke plunked up onto the pier. Both of them were breathing heavily and Mai collapsed next to me, exhausted.

"A…are you…okay?" Mai breathed, turning her anxious gaze towards me. Opening my eyes, I nodded feebly, allowing my eyelids to hide my vision again.

Curling into myself, I attempted—and failed—to block out the swift gust of wind that were causing shivers to run about my skin. Now, I was cold.

"You don't know how to swim?" Sasuke exclaimed from my left. Turning over, I glared up at him weakly, tremors making the glare less effective.

"W-when would I need to know how to swim! If you didn't notice, we live in the middle of a forest!" I huffed, my voice only cracking once as I kept my tone strong; an impossible task if ever there was one. Tremors creaked through my bones and my muscles contracted involuntarily and spasmodically.

"Come on: we have to go and get you somewhere warm," Sasuke told me, his tone softer and less accusing than it had been previously.

Just the thought of having to exert energy made my muscles groan, my whole essence felt like it had become ice. As I stabbed at lifting myself, my limbs felt like dead weight and my head felt waterlogged and it spun with each movement.

"I'll…get up later," I stammered, dropping back down on the pier. Hiro had already lifted Mai off the pier and was now carrying her down towards the shore. Sasuke remained where he was, shaking excess water from his raven locks.

"You'll catch hypothermia if you don't warm up," Sasuke huffed, nudging my shoulder roughly. I only groaned in response, my muscles burning at the sudden movement.

"I'm s-sorry my pa-ain is ssuch an inn-convenience to you. Anywayss, by the brright indigo-ish color of my h-hand, it looks like h-hypothermia'ss all ready sset in," I stumbled, my lips not working together with my words. Twisting my numb and azure hued hand in front of both his and my eyes, Sasuke rolled his eyes at my indifference.

Reaching forward, Sasuke lifted me off the warm deck: one arm supporting my legs, the other holding behind my shoulders.

"P-put me down, Jaackass," I mumbled weakly, my head falling against his chest out of fatigue. Sasuke completely ignored my comment as he carried me down the dock, his grip tightening on me as the others surrounded us with question burning to be answered. He merely continued with his strides, his only responses to any of the jounin.

Fatigue finally crashed down on me; the effects being that drowsiness now clouded both my mind and vision. To add to that, Sasuke's steps were steady and uninterrupted, nursing the sleepiness so it became stronger and more effective on my consciousness. Even though I was still in a mild state of hypothermia and coughs still intertwined with my normal breathing, I dozed off as we travelled back towards the campsite.

Even though I was seemingly asleep, little bits of my surroundings were entering my dreams: I caught bits of the talk, some of it cursing for some reason. Before I fully fell into slumber, soft blankets and a warm sleeping bag surrounded me in a cocoon, warming every cell of my body.

"I guess I'll steal Naruto's…" Sasuke's voice deadpanned as I succumbed to sleep.

**Naruto and its Characters © Misashi Kishimoto**

**My OCs, this story/plot ©Midnight Writer 13**


	10. Questions Without Answers

"Hey, look…" a voice managed to push into my slumber from reality, the hushed whisper causing me to groan as I turned over in my sleeping bag. Even with the near death experience from yesterday, my sleep had remained without dreams or any semblance of visions or aspirations; simply the present thought of what I could be dreaming.

Earthly senses filled my head as I began to wake: the morning light seeping in through the canvas of the tent, the pillow which was soaked in an unusual scent, the warmth that circulated around me inside my sleeping bag.

Then, more murmurs pressed into my subconscious and I changed positions again, pulling the cover of the sleeping bag over my head in an attempt to block out excess light and noise.

My eyes fluttered open, the surrounding tent blinking in and out as I blinked sleep away from my eyes. A hot breath puffed out onto my face in the form of a chuckle as I rolled onto my back, crimson and golden locks blocking out bits of my vision.

"Wakey wakey," Kiba chuckled, my eyes narrowing at him dangerously before I noted each of the shinobi stretching sleep away and watching me with confusion and amusement.

"What the hell are you doing in my tent?" I exclaimed, holding the sleeping bag up over my nose so that my croaking voice was slightly muffled.

All of them snickered to each other as I remained in a cloud of utter confusion.

"What do you mean "your tent"? Last time I checked, this was the boys' tent. Besides, that isn't even your sleeping bag," Hiro mused as my baffled gaze flickered to him.

Glancing down at my bedding, it dawned on me that he was right; this wasn't my sleeping bag and this wasn't my tent.

"So what did you do last night? I want all the dirty details," Kiba chuckled, hinting at some situation his sick mind had created.

"Pervert," I hissed, glaring at the dog-nin darkly. I could hear his dog scuffling somewhere in the tent away from his usual perch atop the mess of Kiba's hair.

"What were you doing in Sasuke's sleeping bag?" Hiro teased, only encouraging the other shinobi to add their snide comments.

"What has eaten away the small bit of brain you had?" I spat, sitting up and ripping myself from the warmth of the downy bedding. My voice cracked with effort, the technical difficulties making my voice sound hoarse and weak in comparison to my usual tone.

"Move," I hissed, my throat burning with a sharp stinging as if the blade of a kunai had been brushed down the back wall of my throat. Gulping back the tenderness, I shoved passed Hiro and Kiba, who continued to throw taunts.

"Aww, Kyoko's embarrassed!" Hiro shouted, laughter rumbling from his chest. My eye twitched involuntarily as I unfastened the door of the tent in utter silence.

"What's wrong? Tongue tied? Or just tired?" Kiba laughed, Hiro's own laughter growing in volume until both of them were rolling with amusement.

Bright sunlight burned into my eyes, making my drowsy vision even blearier. Taking the first few steps toward my tent, I rubbed my eyes to try and clear them when my foot caught up on something.

"OUCH!" Naruto screeched, waking from sleep on the dirt floor outside his tent. Pushing my face away from the ground so I could prop myself on my elbows, I shook the dirt from my hair.

"What are you doing out here, Naruto?" I exclaimed. Finally stopping his shuffling in dust, Naruto stared at me with unfocused eyes as if he was still in dreamland. Shaking his head, he finally noticed my questioning glare and scratched the back of his head nervously.

"When Sasuke wouldn't give me back my sleeping bag, I just kind of fell asleep…" His sentence fell away when I rolled my eyes, huffing as I pushed myself back to my feet.

"Where is that bastard now?" I asked icily, brushing dust off my clothes. A moment of silence filled the air before the Uzumaki attempted to speak again.

"I…I think he's trying to start a fire," he stammered, bemusement encircling his statement. Rolling my eyes, I left the Uzumaki where he lay in the dirt in search for Uchiha.

Inhaling deeply, my lungs wracked with the sting of harsh use, as did my throat and nose. Coughing deeply, I finally spotted the Uchiha where Naruto had suggested: kneeling on the ground beside the fire pit and failing at starting a fire.

"Damn it…" he cursed under his breath as I crossed my arms and glowered down at him. Twisting his neck around, he sent me a bored stare and questioningly raised his eyebrow at my irritated state.

"Why was I in the boys' tent, Uchiha?" I demanded, my voice cracking halfway through the sentence. Dusting off his knees, Sasuke rose to his full height, just taller than myself, as he continued to stare at me with a questioning gaze.

"Your tent blew away while we were gone; setting off a bomb right next to it just the night before probably didn't help keep it in place," he commented sarcastically.

"What about the girls' tent? Huh?" I asked irately, wondering what the hell made it a good idea to put me in the boys' tent.

"It was full. I let you sleep where there was room. It isn't that big of a deal," he sighed, talking as if I were a child to be calmed out of a temper tantrum.

"Actually, it is kind of a big deal Uchiha," I told him, poking his chest once for emphasis. He only chuckled as the Uchiha smirk played across his face, "Just go back to your tent. I dare you. Then you'll find out why it's a big deal."

The raven haired shinobi shook his head in disbelief as I spun on my heel, heading back to the tents for another couple hours of sleep.

Upon crawling into the girls' tent, I found that it really was quite cramped; not that I'm admitting that bastard was right in any way, shape, or form. But I crawled over to Mai's sleeping form and gave her a soft nudge. Her hair was a tussled mess about her head, random strands stretching out across her pillow. Tossing for a minute, Mai finally was roused enough to give me a quick smile before scooting over enough for me to share some sleeping space.

"Thanks," I murmured as my eyes closed.

"Mhm," she mumbled as sleep took her back into its embrace.

"Shut up Sakura!"

"No you Ino! You're gonna wake her up!"

Both girls' strident voice interrupted my slumber this time, their voices sounding very close, even for the tiny tent.

"Do ya think…" Sakura questioned, her voice simply dropping away.

"There's no way. The two hate each other Sakura. People who hate each other don't do…that…" she stated more confidently to her frienemy. I could feel both of their gazes boring into the back of my head as I pressed my face deeper into the pillow, hoping to keep their voices from reaching my ears.

"Kiba's such a liar…" Ino spat, disgusted that she had even listened to the dog-nin in the first place.

"She couldn't…" Sakura stated, self assurance woven in her tone. Now both kunoichi were examining the back of my head so close that their exhaled breath was brushing my hair about.

"If you don't back up and leave me to sleep in peace, you will leave this tent with broken noses," I mumbled through a mouthful of pillow.

A snorted chuckle, muffled by a face full of pillow, came from Mai next to me as both girls backed up immediately, gasps following their retreat. The sound of a flapping tent door announced they two girls' exited, allowing me to sigh in relief.

"Can you not go back to sleep either?" Mai questioned without moving, her pillow still blocking out a good amount of her voice. Without lifting my head, I nodded, the smooth fabric of the pillow rubbing over most of my face.

"Maybe that dumbass finally started a fire," I mumbled as I heaved myself up and out of the tent. Mai was just ahead of me as we groggily headed in the direction of the fire. Even with my closed eyes, I knew a fire was burning; waves of heated breezes blew past my face, warming my cheeks and nose. The heat was inviting in the chilly morning air, foretelling the mid-Spring weather to come.

"Finally…warmth…" I mumbled, spreading my fingers out in front of me to warm in the flames that twisted from the logs on the ground.

"Sasuke too cold for you?" Kiba chuckled, sitting down on my right. Slowly turning my head, I sent the dog-nin a dirty look. No words couldn't be twisted by Kiba so I choose to not speak back at all. Other genin joined us groggily, most still rubbing dreams from their eyes as we all waited for the jounin and some guidance to where the hell we were going. Hiro was the last to join, sitting on the other side of Mai, much too close for her liking. All of us were silent as we waited and waited. Hiro made a double take of me, his face contorting in confusion.

"Who got Kyoko to finally shut up? And how? I want to know for future references…" Kiba's grin widened hugely, his dog seeming to grin just as much. Sending a swift elbow to his ribs, Kiba kept his mouth shut but still, his grin remained in place.

Eventually, we were back on the road, our destination growing closer and closer as the days passed. It was the same everyday for three days straight: wake up to crisp and chill mornings where the grass was frosted with dew, walk through the day dealing with taunts and everyday chatter, pitch camp, fall asleep to the sound of crickets chirping in the warm night air.

I just kept telling myself that the teams would be splitting up in three days, meaning no more Kiba and his dog, no more Shikamaru and his complaints, and no more Ino and all that encompasses up "Ino". Residing in a tent with either of the two annoying kunoichi was enough to make one insane.

As dinner was being prepared, I watched with vague interest as the shinobi who weren't assigned a job instinctively returned to their specific jutsu training. Shadows darted to and fro across the uneven earth as paper mice and squirrels scavenged and then later exploded to the amusement of Mai; every once and a while a Naruto clone would scamper between the trees, sometimes with Kiba's dog hanging off their arm and other times with burn marks from paper bombs and fire jutsus. It was an amusing circus to watch, the many different rings containing chaos that easily intermingled with the other realms of the show. Just as I began to doze off, another body plopped down on the ground next to me, panting with exhaustion.

"Can I help you?" I sighed, closing my eyes again. Sasuke continued to pant for a minute more before finally sucking in some oxygen and using his lingual skills.

"Yeah, fight me," he stated, as I opened my eyes, confused. For some reason, he looked completely sane and sure.

"Fight you?"

"Repeating me isn't an answer," he deadpanned.

"Ok, how does "no" work for you?" I replied, leaning back again.

"It doesn't," he huffed, "Now get up."

Uchiha pushed himself to his feet, only to raise an eyebrow at me as I remained at rest. I returned his confused stare.

"You expect me to listen?"

Pursing his lips in a straight line, Sasuke continued to glare down at me until his sly smirk crept across his face.

"So you admit that I would kick your ass then?" he assumed, crossing his arms across his chest. My eyes narrowed as my mind became torn; my pride won.

"No. I just thought I would save you the embarrassment," I stated, standing to follow the raven haired shinobi to a clear area. He turned suddenly, a challenging stance taking over his posture. Crouching low, I waited for the attack.

When it finally came, I was shocked. It was fast and swift, a crouching lion on the attack, I being the grazing and unprepared prey. The swift blazes of fire that danced across the clearing zipped past my body as I contorted to dodge the burning heat. Panting and finding my clothes singed, my vision swept across the surrounding area, searching yet finding nothing but more fire as I continued to dodge and swerve and dart about.

Finally getting a glimpse of Uchiha, I darted at him, a double of me coming from behind. His smirking features were there for only a second though. The flames chased after me as I was warded off and my double disappeared in a puff of smoke.

To rid myself of my pursuers, I pulled any water I could to me and attempted to control the flames, my hands pressing together into a combination of seals. But all the water that flowed disappeared into a cloud of rising steam and the fire remained untamable. I had lost all sight of Uchiha as the fire surrounded me with bright dancing colors and dark plumes of smoke.

Tired of this bombardment, I scanned skyward and found a tree branch to which I sprang and clung to, searching for Uchiha. The flames pushed heat into my face as they spun about in a dizzy circus, Uchiha hiding among the fluttering and fanned flames.

It didn't take long for him to reveal himself.

In a matter of seconds, I was tumbling through the air and landed on the now flameless ground with a thud. I was staring up at the sky, my mind blank as the air rushed from my lungs. Twitching in reaction, kunai pinned my appendages to the ground, snagging both clothe and skin as they blade sank into the earth.

Uchiha stared down at me, a confident smirk across his face as I gasped for air, my throat painfully raw. I couldn't stand it; that confident smirk, the charcoal eyes that held such pride and mockery. It filled me with an anger and disgust, burning so warm that it stung.

Subtly curling my right hand about, water crawled up and about him, freezing against his skin. First his hands, followed by his arms, feet, legs, and torso, his whole body was made immobile by the ice. Finishing my Ice Lock jutsu, I ripped each arm and leg away from the kunai and approached the Uchiha.

Even as I saw it coming, I couldn't compel myself to stop it. Something just halted me; I could completely smash any hopes that Uchiha had of beating me now but I wouldn't, just couldn't for some reason. I knew it was stupid of me; Uchiha was definitely right at my level of fighting, if not better, as much as I hated to admit it. My Ice Lock would only hold him for a short time if he was smart, which I highly doubted.

I was only given a few split seconds of the warning heat before the explosion hit me. I pressed my eyes shut and wrapped my arms about myself in an attempt for protection from any obstacles in my way.

My vision twisted in and out of focus as I lay on my side, facing a set of trees I hadn't passed through to arrive to the clearing I had just been in. I remained still for a few seconds before I pushed myself up, only to find my head pounding with a heavy thudding of pain. Just along my hairline, the pain pinpointed and radiated over my skull. Touching my fingers to the origin, I found my fingertips to be painted with blood. Closing my eyes, I leaned and steadied my weight on the nearest tree; dizziness made my balance very untrustworthy at the moment.

"Kyoko!"

Ignoring the voice, I scanned the area for a familiar pathway. Uchiha's footsteps alluded to his appearance as they approached swiftly.

"You okay?" he asked, placing a hand on my shoulder. I shook my head slightly, a twitched of my head indicating a "no".

"Let me help you; one of Mai's bombs scuttled in my line of fire," he grumbled, tugging on my shoulder.

"Go away," I hissed, an odd sense of confusion pressing into my already crammed head, "I'm not practicing with you anymore."

Sasuke's hand left my shoulder swiftly, his usual cold aura returning.

"Whatever. Tell that bitch to keep better track of her bombs from now on," he spat, turning on his heel and leaving me to be.

Leaving my head as it was, I withdrew kunai and began to chip away at the tree trunk, pieces of bark and wood splintering off in all directions. I chipped, and picked, and targeted at the trees about me

Collapsing to the ground, the bark of the tree was rough and gnarled behind my back; the grass pleasantly warm beneath me. Thoughts I didn't want flowing through my mind flowed; questions I didn't want answered.

Why did I let Uchiha lure me into a fight so easily? Why had I left my Ice Lock so weak? What was making me feel so clogged and confused? Why did Sasuke care?

Why did I care?

Gripping my head in my hands, I slowly dragged my fingers down from my hairline, lock falling in my face. My fingertips ran over the contours of my face; the curved plane of my forehead, the depression of my eyes from my forehead and then the smooth curve of my cheeks to my jaw. I shook my head, attempting to clear it, to no avail.

When I came back to reality, the sun had fallen and a cold wind swept about the wood, blowing my hair about my face and chilling my skin. A pale darkness filtered through the trees as I began a slow trudge back to camp, the cool night swirling about me as I went.

It wasn't long until I felt it: a presence. The signature felt dark and cold, like millions of ice crystals had joined within the atmosphere. Immediately, Uchiha popped into my mind. Had he come back to try and spook me? Or maybe Rika had sent him retrieve me?

Whatever it was, he had better just go back to camp because I was going at my own pace and wasn't about to move any faster. I had begun to move about, aimlessly walking through the wood as it followed me for a long while, keeping a good distance yet still on the same trail as I was, like a distant shadow, just as dark and stoic.

"Hey, Uchiha! I know you there! How about you stop sneaking around like a fucking weasel!"

"Gladly," a deep voice replied. I choked back on shock and fear as my mind whirred.

Who was this? It definitely wasn't Sasuke. A cloaked figure, dark and mysterious as its signature, made itself clear from the shadow of a tree, dull moonlight illuminating blood red eyes that spun in their sockets.

I ran my eyes over the stoic figure: tall and gaunt, pale and scarred skin, dark ebony hair. And those eyes…so deep and empty, like staring straight into a starless night reflected on a pool of blood.

RIKA'S POV

Curiously, I glanced at my brother and then at his pupil, both of whom were deep in thought. The young shinobi, Sasuke Uchiha, just kept staring out into the trees, searching for something that obviously wasn't being illuminated by the fire light. Kakashi seemed tense, his mind very far away, dealing with some problem he had found.

In all truth, as soon as the sun had left the earth, an eerie and invisible fog had covered the area, a pretense that something at any moment could go wrong. And now noting that Kyoko still hadn't returned to camp, I began to worry.

Suddenly, breaking the still silence, Sasuke bolted, his form disappearing in between the trees.

"Rika, notify the other jounin that Kyoko is missing but don't let any genin know yet, not even her teammates. Something is very wrong and I have to find it out before Sasuke does something he will regret," Kakashi stated grimly, his figure disappearing among the same trees Sasuke's had only moments before.

I didn't want to believe him; Kyoko wouldn't let that happen. She was much too stubborn and much too strong. But I did as my brother asked; I refrained from answering Mai's and Hiro's curious and wondering gazes and informed Asuma and Kurenai of what I had been informed myself: something had happened to Kyoko and Kakashi had gone to investigate.

"Why is Kakashi going to look for her?" Asuma questioned, a cigarette held precariously between his lips, unlit. My fists clenched together for a mere second; I knew I should have gone looking for her myself but they also didn't know of Sasuke's absence from camp as well as Kakashi's.

"Because he insisted," I replied, returning to the camp fire. I was scared, I admit it, but the real fear didn't settle in yet. Sasuke stumbled back into camp minutes later, only half an hour after leaving, bleeding and wheezing as he tried to support himself.

Until now, I hadn't completely grasped the danger at hand.

**Naruto and Characters © Misashi Kishimoto**

**This story, characters, and plot © Midnight Writer 13**


	11. Remembrance

With a sudden inhale of oxygen, my eyes fluttered open. I blinked a few times, my blurred vision remaining slightly impaired. My eyes darted about, panicked.

Where was I?

My half lidded eyes still were heavily laden yet my heart now pounded noisily in my chest. My head and eyes were out of sync, my head spinning each time I jerked about.

My fingers, trapped between my back and the scathing bark of the tree, reached and wriggled towards the weapon holster on my hip. The bark, sharp and inflexible, ripped at the pads of my palm as I came closer to weapons. Biting down on my lip, I suddenly was pulled back to reality by a deep voice.

"Good evening."

RIKA'S POV

Sasuke's arm shook violently under my hand as I aided him to a bench, his own strength failing. Under the glow of the moon, I took in Sasuke's bedraggled appearance and watched as each time his face calmed, it would contort again in pain.

"What happened?" I inquired in a hushed tone, trying to keep my voice from the listening ears of other shinobi. Sasuke only continued as he was, too engrossed in his own pain; He seemed oblivious to the outside world.

With tender fingers, I tugged at the torn pieces of shirt, gently removing them from where they were adhered to Sasuke's skin with warm, ample blood. Gashes, cuts, and bruises fractured his pale skin; whatever had done this damage, it was violent and causing intentional harm. I waited patiently as I healed what I could: a few cuts knitted back together to create light shadows of what used to be.

I asked him again, but still Sasuke ignored me. His expression suddenly grew quite fearful, his eyes distant.

"Where's Kakashi?" he asked, turning to me.

I didn't reply, stalling by tending to a large gash crawling up to the front of his shoulder from his mid-upper arm. Just as the wound began to knit together, Sasuke ripped his arm away from me.

"Where is he, Rika?" he repeated. He was completely distraught, his breathing fast and his eyes anxious.

"I don't know, Sasuke," I replied calmly, beginning to heal his wounds again.

"Stop it!" he hissed, staggering to his feet, "Tell me where he is Rika!" Standing to my full height, I looked down at the young genin as blankly as I could.

"Kakashi can take care of himself, Sasuke. I need you to tell me what was out there, now," I insisted, forcing him back down onto the bench. Glaring up at me with intense fury, he retold his story, never once letting his stare leave mine. Although I hoped I looked solid, I couldn't help but stagger, my breath caught in my throat.

KYOKO'S POV

I stopped struggling, instead holding myself still. A figure stepped out of the darkness into the moonlight, a tall and cloaked figure. His pale face, handsome and terrifying all in the same, seemed to glow in the moonlight. His deep voice was as knowledgeable as his eyes, they're deep scarlet irises reflecting spilt blood and death and destruction.

"I wouldn't say it's a good evening," I managed to sputter. I began moving more feverishly for the weapons at my side, to no avail. The figure remained deprived of emotion as he approached slowly. He was now only inches away from me, his robes close to skimming the outer edge of whatever held me to the tree. His pupils angled down to look at me, he stared at me for a minute or so.

"Do you remember me?" he said slowly, his voice low in volume, almost a whisper. I tried to look as angry as I could, to be unafraid and strong.

"I do remember you, Itachi Uchiha," I replied forcefully, "Why am I here?" The elder Uchiha was silent, as if he was contemplating the answer he wanted to give me.

"I want information that only you possess," he finally replied. I didn't know how to respond. What was so special about what I knew that couldn't be taken from any of the other shinobi?

"What?" I asked, confused. I was puzzled and I hated being kept in this mysterious and confusing darkness. Itachi blinked slowly, just gazing at me for a few moments.

"You are the last child," he replied finally.

I still remained in the dark. The only way I could give him any information, or hide it from him, would be to know what the hell he was talking about. I stared off into the distance, not particularly at anything specific, just staring. My thoughts raced as I racked my brain but I kept coming up with nothing, like trying grip water.

"Tell me all you know about Arashigakure," he stated.

"I don't know anything—," I told him. In a sudden wave of pressure, my head pounded with pain, the name setting off a trigger. Something in my mind moved and wriggled, stretching its unused and sore limbs.

Even with my closed eyes, I could feel Itachi's terrifying stare.

"Do not lie," he stated, his voice even and calm. I struggled even more, movement being the only attempt I could make at soothing my head.

"I'm…not lying!" I cried. I was though somewhat; it was so familiar yet still unknown. My mind slowly settled back in a semi less painful state, yet now sluggish and blurred again.

He didn't say anything, only silently watched, disbelieving and determined.

"I don't know what to tell you," I mumbled, trying to form words, "I don't remember anything."

He sighed. It was low and subtle, but it was enough for me to know it couldn't mean anything good. He was thinking; at least, that's what I assumed he was doing.

"What is your earliest memory?"

It struck me as odd, even in my half state of mind.

"Being in Konoha," I answered.

Itachi sighed, a deep hum in his throat, signaling he was thinking again. He finally muttered one word:

"Tsukuyomi."

I was confused. Before my unfocused eyes, the world around me darkened; the moon turned black, the sky dark red, and the rest of the world a mixture of the two colors. My breathing hastened as my tree turned to a flat board suspended in the air, my arms stretched out to my sides, and all four of my limbs tethered down tightly. Itachi stood before me, staring at me with strained eyes.

"What is this…?" I breathed, turning my head about. My eyes widened even more as Itachi withdrew a gleaming sword. The metal shone with a dark glitter, clean and unscathed and stuck a deep note of fear in my chest. He glanced at the blade for only a moment before approaching me slowly, pressing the sharp tip of the blade to the well of my throat, right at the center of my collar bone.

"Arashigakure," he stated again. The festering demon within my mind began moving and it took all my will to hold my head still against the pointed blade. In my mind, I was screaming and I held my tongue back; I wasn't about to give Itachi the satisfaction of knowing he'd put me in that much pain with mere words. He smoothly pulled away the blade, stepping away and retracting the blade.

Suddenly, the blade was in my side. Itachi drove the blade, the point piercing my torso painfully and he pressed it deeper. The pain was unbearable; or so I thought until he withdrew the blade, tugging on my torn flesh and allowing warm blood to flow freely down my side. The sword struck again and again; once barely missing my spine, another time through my ribcage, and yet another creating a fracture over my skin.

I figured this was a genjutsu but every part of it was incredibly and horrifyingly real. I don't know how much time had passed, it could have been long days or mere hours, when Itachi finally halted his attacks. My heart pounded in my ears as my breathing became harsh. Itachi wiped the gleaming ruby blade off before approaching me, once again pressing the tip of the blade against my throat. Even after this long time of genjutsu and attacking, he appeared to have lost none of his composure or strength yet.

"I…I don't…know!" I screeched, leaning my head against the board behind me. I closed my eyes as I felt the point forced with more pressure against my skin, blood beading up under it.

" Ryouchi Temple. Hotaru School," he placed the words before me, presenting them evenly. The pounding in my head was a hammering between my eyes and a high pitched squeal as the names struck my ears. "Kouden Pass. Danae Valley. The Kenji Massacre."

The demon went ballistic. There was a crack, a rip, a break. It was like my mind was being ripped in half, split into pieces by these simple words.

Now, I screamed.

Screamed bloody murder in agony and pure, unbearable pain. The blade, whether purposefully or not on Itachi's part, pierced my throat as I lurched forward, trying to soothe the agony somehow.

Memories suddenly filled my mind in a massive tidal wave, replaying in front of my eyes. They just kept replaying over and over and over again, stripping away my sanity piece by piece. The physical pain was now forgotten. Tears swelled from my eyes, their salty trails never ceasing. The torture continued for who knows how long, the physical and emotion pain slowly deteriorating my stability of mind until I was numb.

My eyes drifted upward, finally falling on the close pupil's of Itachi. In those eyes, I viewed my own death, agonizing and lethargic. I viewed torture, unending and unbearable. I saw hopelessness.

My heart dropped. I let my muscles fall limp in complete and utter defeat; the deafening pound of being conquered constant in my ears. I just stared blankly into the deep crimson eyes, exhausted beyond any type of exhaustion I had ever felt. My body hurt; I was bleeding still, my voice had disappeared, and every cell of my essence screamed in pain. I was defeated.

Itachi was thinking again; he had taken and given me every bit of memory and information I had stored in my mind but now he was thinking about his family. I didn't know how I knew but all of a sudden I was sent somewhere else, to a home, a home that was filled with death, watching a memory of Itachi's.

I couldn't take it; I wanted death to descend upon me like a dark cloud, comforting me into an eternal peace. My state of mind, body, and soul all felt weak and unstable.

My bindings loosened until they didn't not support my weight at all and gravity dropped my body from its earlier confinement. Expecting to hit the ground and not having the energy to stop the fall, I was surprised when my face was placed against fabric that was covering a shoulder. My head slumped to the side and my whole body was limp in Itachi's hold.

I didn't try to lift my arms to push him away as I wanted to.

Then, the natural color of wildlife returned, their hues exactly the same as they had been before the Tsukuyomi had been activated. But it had felt like days I had been tortured. My body ached and was in agony as the fabric of his cloak touched the real open wounds.

As I stayed exhausted in his grasp, I felt as though I was alertly unconscious. My muscles were all relaxed and few thoughts passed through my head but I was aware of what had happened, what had returned, and what was too soon to come. I could feel Itachi's emotionless gaze fixated on me as my head turned to the side so I wouldn't face him. His arms were loose about my small frame as he held me like a broken doll.

"Why?" was all I could manage to ask.

"Why what?" Itachi's voice was cold but it barely scathed my fractured psyche.

"Why everything." Anger gripped my throat as I spoke, now with a fiery passion that was only slightly dulled by the pieces of my mind, "Why me? Why all of this? Why your past and mine?"

Itachi's only reply was a few weak coughs and my anger quickly died away like a fire put out with ice water. I forced myself to push away from him. His cold Sharingan eyes were like blood stones as I stumbled to my feet, weak and in pain.

For some reason, I was different. Itachi's thoughts continued to echo in my head, loud and reverberating off the walls of my mind and sometimes blending with other voices from memories in my head. I stumbled step after step, holding my head in my hands, trying to get rid of his thoughts.

Itachi just watched me, confused at my behavior. I didn't know how to fix it; everything was flooding my fractured mind at once.

I finally just collapsed on the ground, trying to press the thoughts out of my head. Itachi crouched next to me, observing my movements.

"Look at me," he stated, his voice close. I cracked open my eyes the tiniest bit and my surroundings almost shocked me. The sky was a dark onyx and the moon was covered by clouds. The moment I noticed this, the clouds, billowing like they contained a raging storm, realigned themselves to show the moon. Surprise flitted through Itachi's expression, disappearing as quickly as it had appeared.

"I have underestimated your potential. You could be a very useful Akatsuki one day with the power you have yet to obtain," he stated, brushing a piece of bloodied hair from my face. His voice seemed softer, gentler now. Or that could have just been the blood loss.

"Goodbye for now."

And with that, Itachi was gone.


	12. Lost and Found

Pathetic. Feeble. Weak.

I had to get up. I had to find camp.

Frail. Dismal. Useless.

I was going to die if I didn't move.

So many emotions were swirling like a storm cloud in my mind: fury, disappointment, agony, grief. I was numb.

Whether this was blood loss or emotional overload, I had no idea.

Tears, salty and stinging, dripped down my cheeks as I clenched my fists.

If I died, right here on this patch of earth, I would never see anyone again. I would never see Oka and tell her that I loved her. Tell her that she was the best mother anyone could have asked for. She had sacrificed so much for me. I would never see Mai again and tell her that she was more like a sister than a friend. Tell her that her friendship meant so much and she was the one who got me through the days. She had put up with me for so long. If I died…I would never see Hiro or Rika or Iruka or Naruto or Sasuke or…anyone. I would become a part of the earth again.

A small voice screamed in my head. Don't give up. Keep holding on for them. Keep holding on for you.

I blinked open my eyes. Forcing my muscles to move, I propped myself up on my elbows and then into a low squat, using the ground for balance. Crimson clouded my vision but I could see the trees and their leafy green arms, reaching out to help. I stumbled forward, faltering until my hand snagged on a low branch.

My feet, and my path, felt uncertain and shaky. My body screamed with each movement, everything of me protesting to each step and stumble. I tripped a few times, the branches catching on my clothes and skin as I dropped to the ground.

The third time, I just stayed where I was, looking up at the stars. I couldn't help but cry, thinking death could be only a few ragged breathes away.

Rain began to fall, tiny drops of shockingly cold water splattering on my bloodied and dirtied skin. Turning on my side, I curled into myself as tightly as I could.

MAI's POV

Everyone had heard it. A voice. A thought. A sign of communal insanity.

Sitting about the fire, I jumped up, two senbon placed delicately between my fingertips. A chill rushed over my skin as frightened life had taken hold of the camp. Hiro was the first one by my side.

"You heard…?" he asked, his voice scarcely above a whisper.

"Everyone did. Where's Rika?" I rushed, in a low tone myself.

As if on cue, Rika appeared behind us, one hand on my shoulder, and the other hand on Hiro's.

"I'm right here," she replied, her voice soft and calm, "You should probably head off to sleep. Remember, we have training in the morn—"

"Rika," I interrupted, "Where's Kyoko?"

I tried to stay calm and keep my voice straight. My gaze stayed on our sensei as she calculated. Rika's glance switched between the two of us, blank and concealed.

"Gather the genin," she ordered. Not that that was terribly difficult: most of the genin had already assembled about the fire, some half asleep and still in their pajamas. Over at the sensei's tent, I could see a bruised and bandaged Sasuke making his way over.

Rika, Asuma and Kurenai waiting silently behind her, explained the situation as best as possible. My skin crawled as she continued past the information I needed: Kyoko and Kakashi were out there, fighting some terrible danger that had left Sasuke a banged up mess. My breathing was fast and rushed, I needed to think quickly and clearly. I had been trained for years to be a kunoichi: unemotional, unbiased, and unmovable. Now, put under pressure, I was becoming rash, fevered, and scared.

Without looking down, I grasped Hiro's wrist. I breathed in deeply, noting his composure, a hint of anxiety and worry added in. At least one of us would be calm.

Without missing a beat, I darted into the forest.

"Naruto! Go find someone else to bother," I growled, my tone hushed under the circumstances. Hiro was just ahead of me, his weapon at the ready. Crouched, I held onto his wrist tightly; if he came upon anything while I was trying to deal with Naruto, I would know as soon as it happened.

"I can help! You guys are most likely to find Kyoko and I want to help!" the blonde growled back. Huffing, I turned back and pushed forward; I had to focus on finding Kyoko.

"Grab my hand," I ordered, tossing my hand back towards Naruto. It took a minute but finally I felt Naruto's hand in mine and his weird excitement in my head. From my other hand, I could feel a string of fury from Hiro but I ignored both for the world around me. The leaves were fairly high above us yet we had a covering wall of branches and brush to maneuver about in. Whatever was out there, we didn't want to run into it without any warning.

It seemed like hours we were looking for her even though I knew only minutes had passed. Shivers ran through my body, the rain slowly soaking me. To add, fervor itched under my skin and I knew it was beginning to infect Naruto and Hiro.

I felt my surroundings, and still had trouble picking up any odd or different chakra signatures. There seemed to be nothing, as if we hadn't had three ninja go missing in these woods with a huge threat. Eventually, we picked up Kyoko's trail but it kept leading in random zigzags until it…changed. It was her, no doubt, but it wasn't the same kind of chakra and it left trails in short bursts.

Then, Naruto broke the connection. Stopping, he stared off into the distance, through the trees and the rain. Hiro glanced at me quickly, squeezing my hand to get my attention. I glanced at him, all my hope, fear, and anxiety clear and apparent. Hiro's dark irises had always been difficult to read, always hidden and well covered with a shield. Now, under his dark hair which was plastered to his forehead, reassurance and perseverance was shown through.

We followed Naruto until we found him, far off. Kyoko's trail increased in strength, blaring like a siren, as we came closer to the blonde ninja. Naruto was petrified, in complete shock, as he stood over a crumpled heap. I rushed forward, ahead of Hiro and going around the unmoving Naruto to Kyoko.

There was so much blood. It just kept coming, as if seeping from every pore instead of individual wounds. I placed my uncovered hand on her shoulder: she was so cold, and so far out of it.

"Kyoko, everything's gonna be alright."

Naruto, being shaken out of his trance, quickly crouched down and wrapped his arms around Kyoko, picking her up off the ground. She barely made any sounds, a few audible groans as her limp body jostled from being moved.

"Come on, we have to hurry!" Hiro stated, grabbing my arm. I brushed his hand quickly, placing my hand on Kyoko's side to feel her heart beat. The three of us rushed back to camp, attempting to move quickly without jostling Kyoko too much.

Rika was waiting for us when we returned, taking Kyoko quickly into the Sensei's tent to heal her. I tried to follow inside but Hiro held me back.

"I need to be there for her," I hissed, attempting again only to be stopped again.

"We don't need to crowd the tent. We can see her soon," Hiro soothed, pulling me away from the tent. I glanced back; he was right but I still wanted to be in there.

Sitting by the fire, Hiro and I waited for hours. Hiro wrapped his arms around me as I shivered, the cold night air blowing past us. Others sat with us intermediately, some returning to bed, some fighting to stay awake. Naruto was next to us, still frozen. Reaching over, I grabbed Naruto's hand, rubbing my thumb along his palm. He glanced up at me, worry lining his eyes as I gave him a slight smile. He scooted over, joining us in anticipation of Rika.

When Rika did finally exit the tent, the sun was beginning to rise over the horizon. If the three of us looked tired, Rika certainly looked dead. I had never see her so sullen or heard her so quiet as she warmed her hands by the fire. Turning to the three of us, she pulled us into a hug.

"She's going to be ok," Rika murmured, squeezing us tighter.


	13. Dream a Little Dream of You

Pushing into the tent, I slowly glanced at each bed, finally finding Kyoko, beaten and battered under pure white bandages. Kneeling next to her, I grabbed her hand, ignoring all the pain and confusion suddenly thrown into my head. Hiro kneels down next to me, just as relieved as I was to find Kyoko alive. Putting his arm around me, I allowed Hiro's calm demeanor to dispel the frantic confusion. A few tears falling down my face, I turned and nestled my face into Hiro's shoulder, unable to see Kyoko like this anymore.

A few others joined us, Rika, Sasuke, and Naruto included, keeping vigil next to the sleeping Kyoko. Waking every once in a while, Kyoko would writhe as we tried to hold her still, injuries reopening with the sudden movement.

After some time, I felt my eyes begin to feel heavy, sleep starting to envelope me; Hiro looked just as tired, his eyes barely open. Resting my head on his shoulder, it quickly became more and more difficult to stay awake. Then someone gently placed their hand on my shoulder.

"You need to sleep, Mai." Glancing up at Rika, I stared at her for a long moment before returning my gaze to Kyoko.

"I can't just leave her here."

"As noble as that is, Kyoko will be ok. Between all of you, Kyoko hasn't been alone and she still won't," Rika assured, squeezing my shoulder lightly. Sighing, I glanced between Rika and Kyoko, debating. Stretching, Hiro stood, pulling me up with him. All of his exhaustion along with mine crashed down over me as Hiro finally just picked me up off the ground. Finally, I drifted to sleep.

SASUKE'S POV

Days had passed. Everything continued as usual, with the exception of Rika keeping me from training. Instead, I just sat in the tent, sleeping, reading, watching as Kyoko slept. I could tell that she was fighting some storm but I didn't know what it was she was fighting. That alone consumed my mind, the curiosity of what storm plagued her dreams. Rika would return periodically to help change my bandages and then Kyoko's; seeing her wounds, I was furious and ashamed and frustrated. I don't know why I was spending so much time in that tent; that frustrated me even further.

Laying down the book I had only been scarcely reading, I glanced over at Rika. Sitting calmly, she held a wet cloth to Kyoko's head, cooling her fever. Closing my eyes, I inhaled deeply, wondering why the hell I was here at all. I had tried to sleep yet all I had managed was to spend a few hours wrestling with useless thoughts; I couldn't stop thinking about Kyoko, remembering her broken figure as Rika healed her as best she could. Glancing at her now, the scars and bandages and breaks were still evident.

Shaking my head, I focused on the rain which had returned, the light pattern of each drop landing on the canvas covering my head. My body ached and begged for sleep as I focused on my breathing.

Reopening my eyes, they instantly returned to Kyoko; she looked so peaceful. Trying to gain some peace of my own, I rubbed my eyes, sighing in frustration as I had no luck. Why couldn't I just leave? It wouldn't make any difference either way.

Suddenly, she inhaled deeply. Rika jumped almost as high as I did, the ice pack falling to the side as we huddled over Kyoko. Her eyes flicked open suddenly. What the hell?

Kyoko looked as bewildered as us, her reasons different than ours.

What happened?

Kyoko's eyes, normally green, now glowed vibrantly red; her red eyes flicked about, looking around the tent wildly. She stopped searching when her eyes connected with mine. Silent, I held her stare, the intensity both frightening and mesmerizing. Then they faded, returning to their usual green.

KYOKO'S POV

After what had seemed like an endless amount of darkness, I finally woke. My head ached, the rest of my body incredibly sore but I was fully awake. Sasuke grinned slightly, nearly a smirk but less condescending. Glancing up at Rika, I could see her relief and bewilderment, a smile reaching her face as well.

"Morning," she mumbled, brushing hair out of my face. More intent, Rika stared at me for a moment more before standing up, sharing a quick look with Sasuke. "I'll go let the others know you're awake. Make sure she doesn't get up."

Seeing Rika leave the tent, I tried to prop myself up, only to hiss in pain. Sasuke shook his head, giving me the "you're an idiot" look as I fell back to the floor. Seconds later, Mai rushed in, shoving Sasuke over and out of the way as she went.

"You look like hell," Mai laughed, looking like she was about to cry. Half laughing, half coughing, I brushed it off jokingly, trying to push myself up again. Again I failed.

"Help me up," I stated, my third attempt already failing.

"That seems like a stupid idea," Mai said, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"It is a stupid idea," Sasuke added.

"I don't care," I said, sending a quick glare to Sasuke. Groaning, I managed to prop myself on my elbows. The two watching, I pushed myself to my knee and eventually stood, stumbling over my first few steps; I caught myself but I cursed again under my breath and grasped my head.

Still a bit woozy, I left the tent and hobbled over to the fire, plopping down on one of the benches. Yawning, I squinted to see what person I was sitting next to. Pain shot from my shoulder as Kiba slapped his palm across it.

"Hey, Kyoko! You're back!" he cried, Akamaru barking in response.

"You're a fucking idiot."

"Aw, you and Sasuke are more in common than I thought. Watch!" Sasuke, who had sat a few people away, glanced towards us. Reaching over, Kiba smacked Sasuke's chest with a loud thud. Tensing up, Sasuke cursed at Kiba, ignorantly snickering at his pain.

"Don't you ever do that again," I growled. As if dared, Kiba retracted his hand to thud my shoulder again; snatching his wrist, I immobilized the attack.

"Ouch that hurts!" he mocked.

"Fuck you!"

"I don't happen to like your sexual harassment," he smirked. I had only been up for twenty minutes and Kiba was already pissing me off. Ignoring him, I watched the fire absent mindedly as the genin gathered for the day's training. Seeing everyone start to pack up, I attempted with a huge effort to push myself to my feet once again.

"Where are you going?" Kakashi asked, not looking up from his book.

"Training," I stated, making my second attempt at standing up.

"You can barely move. I would say training is a no," Kakashi replied, shoving his book in his pocket and following his students into the woods. Scowling, I hobbled in the same direction after him. I didn't get far; Rika placed a hand on my shoulder and redirected me toward the tent.

"Not today," she said, leaving me at the tent to join the rest of the group. Trying to follow once again, I finally gave in and plopped down onto the floor of the tent. Sasuke was lying across from me, reading from an old book.

Bored out of my mind, I glanced down at my arms, picking at the bandages that covered them almost completely. Each bandage pure white, I assumed I was healed. I assumed wrong.

Pulling up a bandage covering my palm, blood dripped profusely, dying the other bandages surround a deep red. Grimacing, I tried healing the wound to no avail; it continued to bleed just as much. Sasuke huffed out a sigh next to me.

"What?" I questioned, sending him a glare.

"You're an idiot," he said, sitting up. Dropping his book, Sasuke opened up a box at one end of the tent, tossing a bundle of more white bandages at me. Mocking him, I tugged at the white cloth, ripping a strip off. Tugging it tightly about my palm with my teeth, I stretched my hand out, making sure the bandage stuck. Sighing boredly, I glanced over at Sasuke; glancing at his own bandages, he had removed the ones that had been encircling his chest to reveal deep purple bruises and gashes. I watched as he poked at the wounds then attempted to cover them back up again, failing miserably. After the next failed attempt, I rolled my eyes, crawling over next to him.

"Sit still," I stated, reaching forward to grab the bandage. Sasuke swatted my hand away, giving me a stern glance. Giving him a rough shove, I tried to hold him still; we fought silently, I attempting to reach his bandages and he trying to keep me at a good distance.

I suddenly hissed when he grabbed my arm, wrapping his hand about the jostled and unsteady bones harshly. Sasuke's eyes widened in shock and he immediately let go of my arm, looking at me as if saying "I told you not to". I quickly regained my composure and continued rewrapping Sasuke's bandages with little resistance now, lightly healing the wounds as I went.

Tapping his chest, I turned back to crawl back onto my bed, curling up in the covers of my bed as best I could. Lying back, Sasuke rolled on his side to look at me, some sort of tumult in his eyes.

"Thanks," he muttered, rolling back to look at the ceiling. Taken aback, I shook my head; Sasuke actually _thanked _me. Then again, why the hell did I help him? What had the world come to? I shook my head again, clearing it and returning the usual disdain I held for the Uchiha.

Rolling to face the tent wall, I fell into an uneasy slumber, and for one of the first times in my life, I had a dream.

I could see everything; the grass was cool beneath my hands, a breeze blowing past my face and the sun setting far away. Slowly, I started to recognize everything; my home was behind me, hidden among the trees, the school where I was taught by Reina-sensei. Lanterns were being lit in the market which still hummed with people. Getting up, I padded to the house, my home, climbing up each porch step. Reaching up on my tip toes, I barely grasped the knob and yanked the door open, beginning my search through the maze of hallways. My first find was the kitchen; Oba and Ojii were preparing dinner as Miki sat at the table talking to Oka. I passed the library, Emi reading among the hundreds of books and scrolls. Passing bedrooms, I heard Aiko talking on the phone with someone, her voice hushed. I continued on, past more rooms, including my own.

At the end of the hall, I pushed the door open to the training grounds, an arena of hardened earth surrounded by high walls. Sitting on the ground, I tugged at a lock of my hair as Ichiro completed complex jutsus, faster than I could keep up with. Looking over his shoulder, Ichiro grinned at me, a red-eyed glance, as I got up, prepared to fight him.

Punch after kick, Ichiro chuckled as he deftly blocked each tiny fist and small foot. Suddenly, as if struck by one of my attacks, Ichiro fell to the ground, feigning a fatal blow. Jumping about, I laughed as he suddenly lifted me off the ground.

"Look at how much you have improved!" He laughed, allowing me to climb onto his back, "You need to stop or else you'll pass me up in the ranks."

"You know it!" I cried, circling my arms around his neck, "I am going to join you and Miko and Hideki on missions! It will be so much fun!"

Ichiro smiled at me again, mussing my hair.

"I can't wait," he mused. Laying my head on his shoulder, I looked at his tattoo, three small marks surrounded by a circle of scrawled words. I poked at it lightly, the skin raised and puffy. I could hear his voice hum in his chest, a light laughter bubbling under his ribs.

Lying awake for some time, I thought about my family: a somewhat cohesive group of ninja who all shared the same odd mixture of genetics; even my mother seemed to fit in this group somewhere. Just as I was almost lulled into slumber by rain patting against the roof, the moonlight which had been flooding my room suddenly disappeared and there was a creak from inside the house. Whipping my head to look at the door, I waited for a minute before slipping out from under the covers, rapping a blanket about my body as I patted to my doorway.

Everything was quiet. Something was wrong; more than a notion, the air bubbled with tension and uneasiness. Creeping through the halls, I ran into Ichiro. He was putting on his gear, loading weapons into a pouch on his side. Then I noticed Oba, nervously pacing the hall as she watched her son. Her daughters joined soon after, rushing past them and bustling outside in their night clothes. Ojii was missing; looking out a near window, I could see his figure along with Aiko, Emi, and Miki; they circled about another figure, one of whom I didn't recognize.

Everyone was so still; suddenly, the man looked at me, his red eyes burning brightly in the night. I froze to the spot, a chill shivering down my spine as his eyes connected with mine. All chaos broke loose; Ichiro scooped me up as a kunai suddenly broke through the window. Shaking, I smeared the blood off my cheek as Ichiro carried me down the hall.

Feeling the rain pour onto my head, I clutched to Ichiro, watching as my home and the town surrounding went into a full uproar. My heart pounded in my chest and my breath came quicker and quicker, each compelling the other to hurry.

This all suddenly dissolved into nothingness as I shot out of my bed in the tent, clammy and panting.

**There you are, those still reading. I hope you like it!**


	14. Quite a Cliff Hanger

Clutching my night shirt, I quieted my breathing, glancing across the tent as Sasuke mumbled in his sleep. My heart thudded in my chest, pounding in my ears as I took a few deep breaths. As much as I tried to calm, the feeling of uneasiness still sat squarely on my shoulders. I shook my head, blinking; every time my eyes closed, all I could see were those eyes: so red, so bright, so frightening.

My head snapped toward Sasuke as he muttered again in his sleep, a few incoherent words slipping out of his dreams. Sliding out of bed, I stretched a bit, my muscles sore and slight pain sparking from each wound covering my skin.

I stepped out of the tent, crisp air brushing my cheeks as I slowly strolled about the camp site. Kicking at the dewy grass, I crouched back down, agonizingly slowly stretching out on the grass. I stared at the moon, cold and pure white, clouds swirling about the glossy orb. Breathing in, his, the man's, eyes invaded my mind, sparkling with the stars. They sent chills down my spine yet I could not get them out of my head, as if they were singed in my subconscious.

I felt like I knew them too well.

Sensing someone lay out next to me, I didn't turn my head but I could feel them staring at me.

"Why are you up?" Hiro asked, glancing up at the stars. Sighing, I closed my eyes; the red eyes burned behind my own.

"Can't sleep," I replied, "You?"

"About the same," he replied. We remained in silence for a bit, just watching the sky roll by. Mai stretched out between us not much later. All three of us were silent for a long while; nothing really needed to be said. Suddenly, I realize just how much of a team we were; the fact that we hadn't started fighting yet was absolutely astounding.

I thought once or twice about telling them about my dream; about my family and my village and my home. But I never did.

It just didn't seem like the right time.

Rika was there not long after.

"Mission time," she stated, every bit of excitement contained to a whisper. Grinning, she helped me up, all of us returning to a half-torn down campsite. As the last of everything was packed away, I watched the other two teams leave, leaving us for a mission of their own. I sighed, glancing at Naruto bouncing back and forth out of excitement. This was going to be a long trip.

Possessions in tow, the eight of us started down the path, our journey outlined by trees, grass, and greenery. I never quite realized how monotonous walking could be until I had to do nothing but walk for hours upon hours; trust me, it is very, very monotonous. Not that it was completely boring; Naruto and Sakura had an outburst every few minutes.

It was amusing for those first few minutes.

All the fighting spread like a germ, making everyone on edge. Every little thing seemed annoying, every person doing something that was stupid to some level. Mai grabbed my arm, my annoyance falling but only slight no matter Mai's efforts. All of the mutual annoyance built up as we finally came upon our destination multiple hours later.

Two children were waiting there for us; glancing up at us with eerily similar faces, they looked up at us curiously, like we were caged animals in a zoo. Then, their curiosity curled into slight sneers, as if we were sleeping animals in a zoo. Sighing, I realized just how long this mission was going to be: terribly, agonizingly long.

Tugging at her kimono, the girl stepped forward.

"Are you taking us home?" she asked. Glancing at each other, we nodded. She didn't seem very pleased with this.

"That's…disappointing…" the boy mentioned, not quite quietly enough. Piping up, he commented toward us, "Will you be able to protect us? At all?"

With the morning having made everything so annoying, faced with something actually infuriating, we had about reached our ends. But, this was a client. And we weren't allowed to attack clients. Especially royal children clients.

Sakura bent down to the kids' level.

"Aw, you two are so cute! What are your names?" Sakura beamed. She grinned at them and the girl asked,

"I'm Yuri and that's Raiden. And you, what's your name?" Sakura beamed, thinking she had connected with the royal brats.

"I'm Sakura," she said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Sakura, don't treat us like we're two. We're five," Yuri told her. Sakura's smile dissipated and she slowly turned around, her eye twitching in annoyance.

Sensing the growing tension, Rika urged that we begin walking. Naruto was handed the twin's bags as the rest of us surrounded Yuri and Raiden, Rika leading us and Kakashi pulling up the end. As we walked, the two terrors kept their distance, communicating silently between themselves.

The path we took veered off from a well-travelled route. I could hear water ahead. A river diverted in front of us suddenly, its riverbeds swollen and overflowing with river water. We would have to help the twins cross. The girl looked up at me expectantly; she sighed as if it were obvious and rolled her eyes.

"Carry me," she sighed, not bothering to glance up once again.

"No!" She glanced at me with astonishment. I said, "Well, are you going to ask me or not?" She shook her head in disbelief.

"Why? I hired you," she emphasized. I glanced at Rika. She said,

"She's got you there." I looked down at the little girl. I though five year olds were supposed to be cute and need naps and whatnot. I huffed angrily and the girl lifted her arms. I put her on my shoulders and my shoulder gave a shot of pain in revolt. In total, the river only came up to waist. I trudged through the mud on the bottom of the river, the silt swirling in the blue water. I let the little brat down on the grass and she walked away without a word. We had only been with these snots for a few hours and they were already on my nerves. Stretching my sore shoulder, I mumbled angrily. Her brother joined her and I saw Naruto and Sasuke trudged up from the river, soaking wet. Naruto scowled.

"He pushed us in the river and said it was because he needed entertainment," he griped. Sasuke grumbled and pushed past the blonde nin. Mai came up onto the riverbed and wiped the extra water off her dress.

"So how was the little horror?"

"Just that, a little horror," I replied, helping her up. Glancing at our troupe, the twins evil were the only ones who weren't soaked.

The sun made its path across the sky and was straight above us when we stopped for lunch. My wrist was starting to annoy me, the joint tingling with dull pain. The clearing we sat in was strikingly different than our usual terrain; there were so few trees and soft grass padded the ground instead of growing up in weedy patches.

We were at the edge of a forest and a cliff plunged down over the other side of the clearing. I found a larger rock and parked myself on it. I unraveled my bandages and cringed at my darkly bruised wrist. Mai sat on the other side of the rock and looked over my shoulder at my wrist.

"Nasty," she commented, handing me a bit of food. I gratefully ate, noticing the calmness of the surrounding area.

All of a sudden, Rika jumped up. I guess the peace wasn't meant to last. We all tensed; I reached back into my holster, feeling a blade between my fingers. Rika seemed to be waiting for something. When nothing came, she sat back down and rubbed her head, confused. Dropping my weapon, we all prepared to leave again. I had my bag over one shoulder when Rika straightened up; she was listening again.

I glanced over at Mai to see if she knew what was going on. But her eyes were glazed over. Naruto skidded to a stop on his side and there was a shinobi standing in the middle of us. He didn't wear a headband but he had a whole lot of armor on. Three more shinobi joined him.

I crouched, prepared to attack, as I withdrew three kunai. Then, two screams came from Raiden and Yuri; everyone's heads' turned to them as they ran about, not totally sure of their direction. My eyes darted between the shinobi and the twins. Time to act.

Everyone sprang at incredible speeds.

"Two of you! Stay with Raiden and Yuri!" Rika commanded, going on the offense. I jumped between one of the shinobi and the cowering Raiden. My kunai and his blade clashed as we struggled. I yelled to Raiden,

"Stay behind me! If any others come, run!" He slowly nodded that he understood. The shinobi slowly pushed me back, my feet sliding in the dirt; He was stronger. Kicking him deftly, the shinobi flew back and ignoring him, I picked up Raiden.

Raiden didn't struggle as I ran him over and set him behind Sasuke next to his sister. They both just froze. The aura of arrogance and haughtiness around them left and was replaced by fear. Shuriken ricocheted off my kunai in random directions as I blocked and tried to find their source. Another one of the shinobi sprang at me and I prepared for the blow. But Rika grabbed the back of his collar and shoved him into the ground. She then disappeared with the shinobi.

Everyone seemed to be having trouble. Naruto was fighting with a shinobi not very far from me, unsuccessfully so far. The shinobi saw the rigid twins, watching the rest of the battle, and lunged for them, ignoring Naruto. Sasuke blocked the nin so the twins were out of the shinobi's grasp; instead of pushing the shinobi back, Sasuke himself was knocked down, knocked into the twins. They disappeared over the cliff side, screaming.

Without thinking, I jumped after them. From my holster, I wrapped my hand around a wired kunai and grasped the falling twins. Jamming the kunai into the cliffside, we stopped falling. I held my tongue as pain seared through my arm, tingling down into my shoulder and torso. The wire cut into my palm, all of our weight thrown onto my shaky limb. With a crunch, I held back the screams as pain pulsated through my arm, sending the previous pain further out.

"Raiden?" I asked him. He looked up at me from the ground hundreds of feet below us. "Yuri?" Her eyes were wide as she stared at the land so far away from us. Unlike her brother, she just kept staring and slowly nodded her head once. I had my one arm holding them both from their underarms. I knew I couldn't get up like this.

"Raiden, move to my back and put your arms around my neck!" He eventually was able to put his arms around my neck. His feet wrapped around my waist so that he could hold on tighter. I cradled Yuri into the crook of my arm and she curled up into as small as a ball as she could.

"Don't look down! Don't move at all!" I commanded. Raiden's head nuzzled on the back of my shoulder blade and Yuri nestled her head into my shoulder. Now they listen to me. Once they were secure, I glanced up. Everyone was watching us from the edge. The kunai was approximately five feet from the edge; we hung about fifteen feet down. We were stuck.

I finally dug my feet into the cliff face and pushed off as hard as I could. I got a few feet up and wound the wire around my hand so there wasn't as much of a drop. Again, the weight jerked on the wire. I dug my feet into the cliff face and this time someone reached down and, grasping my shoulders, pulled the three of us up. Raiden was lifted and I rolled onto my back. Sakura took Yuri and I lay out, panting. Rika was holding Raiden and looking both of them over for injuries. Mai, Hiro, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto all glanced down at me.

"Thank you so much for all of your stares; they really help the immense pain," I stated through gritted teeth. Sasuke narrowed his eyes and Hiro rolled his. Mai placed her hand lightly on my arm and immediately retracted her hand. Kakashi examined my wrist, avoiding moving it as much as possible.

"You broke it. Again," Kakashi deducted. As if I couldn't have already guessed. "We have to reset it. Naruto and Hiro, hold her down." They grasped my other three limbs as I turned my head the other way. I closed my eyes tightly and Kakashi grasped my hand and elbow. With a quick jerk, pain blasted all the way through my body. When I finally got up, my limb was still throbbing.

We didn't walk for very long after the incident; with everyone weary and shook up, we had to stop for the night. As we were walking, Raiden slowly started walking next to me. Ignoring him, I was suddenly very surprised when he grabbed my hand. His hand was so tiny, fitting just into my palm. He didn't say anything until we reached our campsite. Tugging on my hand, he glanced up at me, wanting to say something. But before he did, he scurried off with his sister to where Sakura was setting up their sleeping bags.


	15. On the Steps of the Palace

I fell asleep quickly and remained that way until suddenly, I was woken up when a small body landed on top of me.

"Is this you Kyoko?" a small voice whispered, "Rai, I hope you're right this time…" I sat up and replied groggily,

"Yuri, what is it? It's a little late isn't it?"

"Well, Rika wouldn't let me talk to you because she said you needed rest," she explained quietly as I felt sleep tug at my eyes once more, "We, Raiden and I, just wanted to thank you. You saved us." Between exhaustion and shock, I really didn't know what to say.

"Uh… you're welcome," I stammered, dumb struck. "Maybe you should go back to bed before Rika catches you."

"No. Will you come on a walk with me and Raiden?"

"Now?"

"Yea," Raiden piped up. Then Yuri interjected,

"And if you don't come with us, we will go on our own."

I sighed. Forcing myself up, I let the two kids lead me into the woods, Yuri grasping my hand. Raiden walked on my other side, gingerly holding my broken wrist. As we walked, they would ask me a question every once in a while and I would answer as well I could. The questions varied from the Leaf Village to being a ninja to anything else that popped into their short attention span minds. So now they're the garrulous ones. I guess their near-death experience had really changed them. The still hand an air of smugness about them but they seemed to suppress it better. Raiden turned around and stopped us, his face serious and scared.

"Someone's following us," he breathed. I smirked lightly seeing as I had known someone was following us; I already knew who it was. Sasuke's sleeping bag had been empty when we left.

"Just go and jumped on that bush and you've got him," I whispered, pointing to a nearby bit of shrubbery. They nodded seriously, eyeing the greenery with determination. I leaned against a tree and they pounced. Sasuke yelled in surprise as they attacked him. When the dust cleared, Yuri and Raiden were sitting on Sasuke's back, looking very pleased with themselves.

"Call off the dogs," Sasuke mumbled, glancing up at me sternly. Laughing, I picked up Yuri and placed her on my shoulders. Raiden stood up and Sasuke picked up Raiden. It wasn't long before both of them were asleep in our arms.

"We should probably head back," Sasuke whispered, glancing at the sleeping twins.

"I guess you're right," I mumbled, "Look, the moon's full tonight," I mentioned, in a half dreamlike state. Glancing at him, he half smiled an actual smile and glanced up into the sky.

"It looks beautiful," he mentioned quietly.

Did he just say that? Sasuke Uchiha just said that. Weird.

He glanced back at me for a moment, something odd in his gaze. I held his stare for a moment, his dark eyes piercing and deep. It was beyond strange but I didn't want to lose. Suddenly, I looked away, letting my eyes fall to the ground.

"Let's go back," I mumbled, my arm tingling with light pain, "Rai here's getting heavy." Walking back, we didn't talk very much. But we weren't fighting which was surely an improvement; ok, so we fought a little bit but I don't think we would ever grow out of that. After putting Raiden and Yuri to bed, I crawled into my sleeping bag but didn't really sleep; my mind raced but with what, I really couldn't say.

Upon waking, we walked for what seemed like forever. The twins were better but they, like most five years olds, needed attention 24/7. They would also sometimes need naps. I didn't really care much that they needed naps but one of them usually came to me when they needed to be carried and that wasn't a bundle of fun. At the present, I was carrying a sleeping Raiden on my back.

"They seem to really like you," mocked Hiro, grinning smugly.

"Go away." I said crossly. I wanted to shove him but I couldn't do so without dropping Raiden.

"Actually, I'll stay right here," he retorted, just to piss me off. Well, it worked; I growled and he was about to continue when Mai called him.

"Hiro! Come here!" Hiro followed obediently, immediately forgetting about saying he wasn't going to move.

More weirdness. Hiro never listened to anyone.

Naruto walked ahead of me and Sakura was on my other side, cradling a sleeping Yuri. Mai and Hiro were chatting a few feet behind me.

Should we really be trusting Naruto to lead us? I glanced at Mai and then gestured to Naruto. She looked worried too. Hiro dropped back and walked next to Sasuke.

"Naruto, where are you taking us?" Mai asked questioningly, walking a bit faster.

"To the castle, duh."

"Don't 'duh' me. You're probably taking us into the middle of nowhere." Mai turned to Rika and Kakashi,

"We've been walking for days now plus Naruto's an idiot." Naruto exclaimed in protest but Kakashi interjected,

"Let me check. I think Naruto's doing fine but I'll make sure." Naruto stuck out his tongue at Mai. Not a good choice.

"I wouldn't test me, Naruto," Mai warned irately. This whole trip was setting her on edge. Then she looked ahead. I followed her gaze to a tree that's bark was chopped to bits. Mai dashed ahead of us and slipped one of her gloves off. She placed her bare fingers on one of the cuts, her eyes glazing over.

"Six of them were here. Jounin level. Two have swords," she reported, "They're about a hundred feet away, coming towards us." Kakashi and Rika took fighting stances. My eyes widened; I had no idea what was going on but I ran in what I hoped was the direction of the castle. Raiden had woken at this point and I could feel his hands holding tightly onto my shoulders.

I had just began to see the turrets of the castle approaching through the trees when a sword spun through the undergrowth right in front of our path. I skidded to a halt as a jounin landed lightly on top of his sword blade, now imbedded in a nearby tree. Another jounin joined him. We had no idea what to do. Naruto ran at them and one threw him into a tree. Swinging Raiden around to my front, I tightened my grip on him. I tried to run the other way but shuriken pinned me to a tree. I held Raiden tighter. I struggled against the shuriken but they didn't budge. I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the next blow. But with a clang, the shuriken flying my way was ricocheted off into the forest.

Opening my eyes, Sasuke stood protectively in front of me. He jumped in and bombarded the shinobi. The assassin grasped Sasuke's foot but Sasuke retaliated by stabbing the kunai into the shinobi's leg. Blasting the shinobi back into the woods, Sasuke turned around and ripped the shuriken from the tree.

"Run to the castle," he ordered. I shook my head, pulling Raiden tighter.

"I won't leave anyone behind," I insisted. Sasuke wouldn't look at me, his face set with determination and his eyes searching the nearby forest.

"You have to do what's best for the client, no matter what happens," he replied stoically. I held my ground, staring intensely at the back of the Uchiha's head. He finally faced me, returning my glare and Raiden gasped. Ruby eyes glittered, tiny black markings encircling a black pupil. I had only seen his Sharingan a few times but even now I was entranced by them. "Go," he insisted, weapons whizzing past us. I held Raiden tighter and moved behind Sasuke, his arms out holding us behind his body. I heard the clung of metal as the weapons were deflected away, the thud as they hit trees around us. There was no easy way out now. Glancing down at Raiden, he was scared, his eyes shut and his grip incredibly strong. Some blades made it past his defense, scrapping my skin. Sasuke shuddered as one managed to hit him in the shoulder. The weapons stopped as the ninja was right in front of us, evaluating the situation.

Suddenly, the jounin sprang at Sasuke. Sasuke diverted himself out of the way expertly and the shinobi changed directions. Sasuke's crimson eyes darted around following the shinobi's every movement. The shinobi sped up his moves and Sasuke threw the weapons, missing the shinobi completely.

How could he miss such an easy target! But he wasn't upset with his misses. In fact, he was smirking. Then I saw it. And then the assassin saw it too. But it was too late for him. Thin threads were draped from the weaponry to his hand. Like a puppeteer, he pulled on the strings using his mouth and hands to orchestrate them, as if he had done this thousands of times.

With that shinobi trapped, I looked around for the next. Suddenly, Sasuke was thrown to the side and he landed with a thud. Raiden tensed in my arms and I gave him a quick squeeze to reassure him. The ninja came at me, weapons glinting in the light. I turned my back, shielding Raiden. I fell forward as shuriken dug into my shoulder blade, setting Raiden down on the ground lightly. I could see the gates mere feet away, people standing at them watching and crying for someone to help us.

"Run to the castle," I urged, nudging him in the direction of the gates. He took one more backward glance before darting away. I stood shakily and faced the shinobi; I needed to stall him. Dashing at the shinobi, I disappeared from his sight. He spun his head around, looking for me and I appeared to his left and sent a kick to his side. I reappeared again above him and kicked at his head. He evaded my last blow and shot up into the air, hurling more kunai. I reflected them off my own kunai. Losing my step, the shinobi attack rapidly, punches and kicks hitting me faster than I could block; I mean I blocked as well as I possibly could. Landing on the ground, the air was knocked out of my lungs and I didn't have any time to recover my breath. I braced for the attack and hoped someone would be here soon.

Then nothing happened.

Opening my eyes, Sasuke's ruby eyes stared back at me. I could see the pain in his eyes as the weapons hit Sasuke. Shocked, I couldn't move. Sasuke was breathing heavily as he stood, pulling me up with him. Forcing me behind him, Sasuke staggered forward to attack. But before the ninja could get any closer, Kakashi appeared and it wasn't long before the ninja was out cold. Trying to breathe, I reached up and pulled at the shuriken in my shoulder.

"You ok?" Sasuke asked, panting. Shocked, I yanked the weapon out and healed up my cut.

"Yeah, kind of," I gasped, wincing as I found another cut. "Are you?"

"Not really," he replied, sarcasm laced in his tone. I wanted to help him. To say I was sorry. But I didn't.

"You should have just taken Raiden then. You would be fine then," I replied, reaching for a weapon stuck in my back.

"Oh," he spat, "sorry I stayed and saved you." Glaring at me, he winced as he pulled weapon after weapon out of his skin. Stepping forward, I tried to pull a weapon he had missed, only for him to pull away.

"I could have saved myself," I retorted, taking another step closer. Sasuke stepped even closer, rolling his eyes in disbelief. Glaring, I jabbed him lightly in the chest. "I do not need you to save me. Ever." He glared at me, his dark eyes glittering with emotions I really couldn't read.

"You're welcome," he replied, walking away. I sighed, pulling out the last weapon.

Great. Just great.


End file.
